Belvedere (structure)
A belvedere /ˈbɛlvɪdɪər/ or belvidere (from Italian for "beautiful view") is an architectural structure sited to take advantage of a fine or scenic view.[1] The term has been used both for rooms in the upper part of a building or structures on the roof, or a separate pavilion in a garden or park. The actual structure can be of any form or style, including a turret, a cupola or an open gallery.[2] The term may be also used for a paved terrace or just a place with a good viewpoint, but no actual building.
It has also been used as a name for a whole building, as in the Belvedere, Vienna, a huge palace, or Belvedere Castle, a folly in Central Park in New York.
Examples
On the hillside above the
Vatican Palace, (circa 1480-1490), Antonio del Pollaiuolo built a small pavilion (casino in Italian) named the palazzetto or the Belvedere for Pope Innocent VIII. Some years later Donato Bramante linked the Vatican with the Belvedere, a commission from Pope Julius II, by creating the Cortile del Belvedere ("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.
Gallery
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A carousel in the Cortile del Belvedere, 1565 -
Belvedere in the park of the Glienicke Palace, in Berlin -
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Johnson's Belvedere, "Tower of Baaa" in Findlay, Illinois -
Gloriette de Buffon in the Jardin des plantes in Paris -
Haldon Belvedere, in Devon, UK -
Patio of the Cortile del Belvedere in the Vatican -
Belvedere of Queen Anne's Summer Palace in the garden of Prague Castle (1538–1560) -
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Belevedere of the Villa Spada in Bologna -
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Belvedere Castle, Central Park, New York -
The Belvedere, Plymouth Hoe
.jpg)
See also
- Belvedere (M. C. Escher), a picture by M. C. Escher which shows an impossible belvedere
- Gazebo
- Gloriette
- Widow's walk
General references
- Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements History and Meaning. Oxford, UK: Westview Press. pp. 342–3. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
Citations
- ^ "Belvedere". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ "Belvedere bell ve DEER". Illustrated Architecture Dictionary. buffaloah.com. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
External links
The dictionary definition of belvedere at Wiktionary
