Originally, the square was called Mikhailovskaya, but it also had an unofficial name Karavannaya, similarly to the neighboring Karavannaya Street. In the middle of the XVIII century, a stream that flowed into the Fontanka River sprung from a swampy area on the site of the future Manezhnaya square. Later, under Emperor Paul I, the architectural ensemble of the current Karavannaya and Italianskaya streets was formed during the construction of the equestrian arena and the stables, which were conceived as part of the Mikhailovsky Castle ensemble.

By the end of the XIX century, the Staro-Manezhny landscape garden was laid out in the center of the square, designed by architect engineer I.A. Merz and gardener A. Wiese. A rectangular wooden gazebo inspired by Russian folk chasing was built in the garden as per the design of architect A.S. Lytkin. The total area of the garden was 354 square fathom. Various tree species grew here, including larch, linden, oak, bird cherry, willow; there were also lawns sown with clover and oats. A few years later, a circular pool with a fountain, which was a smaller replica of the fountain in the Alexander garden, was put up in the middle of the garden.

In 1914, on the corner of Italianskaya and Malaya Sadovaya streets, the Noble Assembly house (now, the Winter Stadium) was built according to the architectural design of the Kosyakov brothers. In 1933, the Leningrad radio broadcasting committee was established in the house. It did not stop its radio broadcasts even during the Siege of Leningrad.

On June 12, 1948, Leningrad’s first children’s cinema “Rodina” was opened in the house of the former Credit Society. In 1959, a major reconstruction of the upper floors was carried out, the auditorium was renovated. Since 1960, the cinematographic center of the St. Petersburg Filmmakers Union has been operating here. The building also houses the movie hall of the Dom Kino cinema.

In the late 1990s, reconstruction of the Novo-Manezhny garden was carried out in order to restore its early XX century appearance, complete with a fence and a fountain. On May 28, 1999, the renovated garden square was opened, and in July of the same year the recreated fountain was unveiled. In May—June 2003, the 5th festival “Italy on Italianskaya”, dedicated to the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, was held on Manezhnaya Square and Italianskaya Street. In honor of this event, busts of Italian architects B.F. Rastrelli, J. Quarenghi, C. Rossi and A. Rinaldi, who took an active part in the construction of St. Petersburg, were installed around the fountain in the middle of the square.

Nowadays, the ensemble of Manezhnaya Square consists of the following architectural monuments: the Mikhailovsky Manege (the Winter Stadium), the buildings of the Mikhailovsky Castle’s stables, the building of the St. Petersburg Noble Assembly (Radio House). There is a garden in the middle of the square. Being a part of the historic development of the center of St. Petersburg, the square is included in the World Heritage List.