The square stands at the northern end of Ponte di Mezzo and is flanked on three sides by historically important buildings that defined social and cultural life in Pisa until the Late Modern Age. Opposite the bridge, like a backdrop, on the corner of Borgo, is the building that from mid 1700s was the Casino dei Nobili, while flanking the square are two constructions that were among the earliest hotels in Pisa. On the west was the Locanda delle Tre Donzelle, that after extension in the 19th century became Grand Hotel de l’Arno, where Van Lint had his art and photography laboratory and studio. Opposite, in the same period, was Hotel Europa, making this square the most central and the best location (wide and facing south) in town. This hub of activity and hospitality was known simply as piazza di Ponte di Mezzo until the end of the 19th century, when it became Piazza Garibaldi.
Slightly off-centre towards the west, is the bronze statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi made in 1892 by Ettore Ferrari and cast by the Crescenzi foundry in Rome. As with similar statues in other cities of the “hero of two worlds”, this Roman sculptor shows the person life size and in an anti-hero stance. This makes the plinth more important. It shows episodes from the life of Garibaldi, including the fall of Rome and his wound on Aspromonte, cured at Pisa. The statue was cast at the Crescenzi foundry in Rome.