Belvedere (occasionally Belvidere) is an architectural term taken from Italian meaning "beautiful view" that refers to any kind of architectural structure (a gazebo, gazebo or gallery) situated so that such a view can be had. A belvedere can be built on top of a building so that you have that view. The structure of the belvedere itself can take any form, it can be a turret, a room with a vaulted ceiling or an open gallery (in Italian, an altana).

On the hill above the Apostolic Palace, Antonio Pollaiuolo (1432-1498) built a small casino (in the pristine sense of this other Italianism: a small house) called the palazzetto or the Belvedere for Pope Innocent VIII. Some years later, Donato Bramante united the Apostolic Palace with the Belvedere, at the request of Pope Julius II, creating the Cortile del Belvedere ("Belvedere Courtyard"), which housed the Apollo of Belvedere, among other famous ancient sculptures. In this way the fashion for the "belvedere" began in the century.