Porches are a big part of the Charleston, SC lifestyle … and if you have been to Charleston, you know that we don’t in fact call them porches, we call thempiazzas. While the direct Italian to English translation of piazza is city square, by the early nineteenth century Americans were using the term to refer to a collonnaded porch like we have here in Charleston.

A joggling board, seen here on the piazza of 46 South Battery, is something often seen on a Charleston piazza. The joggling board was traditionally used for courting couples, by bouncing up and down on the board the couple would slowly make their way towards each other in the center of the joggling board!

Piazzas, like the one here on Beaufain Street, were built in Charleston on either the south or west side of the home to take advantage of the breezes that came off Charleston harbor.

In an era of air conditioning, we don’t rely on the piazza the way early Charlestonians did. However, the piazza still remains an enduring part of the Charleston lifestyle. Great for entertaining, reading a book, or observing the goings on of the neighborhood, Charlestonians love their piazzas.

Each of the piazzas featured above is from a Carriage Properties Exclusive Listing.