Cortile del Belvedere

The Cortile del Belvedere (Belvedere Courtyard or Belvedere Court) was an important building made during the High Renaissance at the Vatican Palace in Rome. It was designed by Donato Bramante starting in 1505. This courtyard had a big effect on how people designed open spaces, plazas, and gardens all over Western Europe.

The courtyard was meant to be one big open space. It connected the Vatican Palace to the Villa Belvedere using a series of terraces and stairs. Narrow wings were built on the sides to hold the space.

Bramante, the designer, did not live to see his work finished. Before the 1600s, a new building was placed across the courtyard. This changed the space and split it into two smaller courtyards.

Early history and Bramante's design

Innocent VIII started building the Villa Belvedere in 1484. It was placed on high ground near the old St Peter's Basilica, where the breeze could cool down the hot Roman summers. The Florentine architect Antonio del Pollaiuolo designed a small summerhouse there, finished by 1487. This villa suburbana was the first fun house built in Rome since ancient times.

When Pope Julius II became pope in 1503, he brought many Roman statues to the Villa Belvedere. He added famous statues like Laocoön and His Sons by 1506, the Apollo Belvedere, and the Belvedere Torso.

Julius asked the architect Bramante to connect the Vatican Palace to the Villa Belvedere. Bramante designed a special set of terraces and stairs, creating a beautiful open space that was unlike anything in Europe at the time. His design included long wings on the sides, which now hold parts of the Vatican Museums. One wing was used for the Vatican Library.

Subsequent history

Shortly after its creation, the courtyard became a place where Pope Leo X would show his special elephant, Hanno, to crowds of people. The elephant was later buried in the same courtyard.

The work on the courtyard continued after Bramante passed away in 1514. Another architect, Pirro Ligorio, finished it for Pope Pius IV between 1562 and 1565. He added a large dome-shaped roof to the end of the upper terrace, creating a huge space called the nicchione. This space is still seen today from many high places around Rome. The design was inspired by an ancient temple dedicated to Fortuna Primigenia in a place called Praeneste, south of Rome.

The lowest part of the courtyard had stone paving and space for special outdoor events. The upper parts had beautiful patterns of plants arranged in graveled walkways. In 1585–90, Pope Sixtus V built part of the Vatican Library, which divided the courtyard into two sections. The lower part kept its name, Cortile del Belvedere, while the upper part became known as Cortile della Pigna after a large bronze pinecone placed there.

In 1990, a modern sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro was added to the middle of the upper courtyard.