Belvedere (structure) - Definition and Overview

Belvedere (occasionally Belvidere) is an architectural term adopted from the Italian (literally "fair view"), which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view. The actual structure can be of any form, whether a turret, a cupola or an open gallery (in Italian an altana).

On the hillside above the Vatican Palace, Antonio Pollaiuolo built a small casino named the palazzetto or the Belvedere for Pope Innocent VIII. Some years later Donato Bramante linked the Vatican with the Belvedere, under a commission from Pope Julius II by creating the Cortile del Belvidere ("Courtyard of the Belvedere"), in which stood the Apollo Belvedere, among the most famous of antique sculptures. This began the fashion in the 16th century for the "belvedere."

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