An exedra is waiting to be discovered. It is an architectural marvel right here in Madrid. But what exactly is an exedra?
An exedra is a semicircular recess or platform. Sometimes, it is crowned by a semi-dome. It can be set into a building’s façade or stand freely.
The original Greek meaning referred to a room opening onto a stoa. This stoa was ringed with curved stone benches. It was perfect for conversation. An exedra might also be a curved break in a colonnade. Perhaps it includes a semicircular seat.
Typically, the exedra features an apsidal podium. This supports the stone bench. The free-standing exedra is common in Hellenistic structures. Often, it supports bronze portrait sculpture. You’d find them along sacred paths. They were also in open places in sanctuaries, such as Delos or Epidaurus. Some Hellenistic exedras were near a city’s agora.
Monument architects still use this free-standing style. The exedra saw increased popularity in Roman architecture. Nero’s architects used exedras. They incorporated them into the Domus Aurea’s design. This enriched the volumes of rooms. Domes and exedras in a dwelling were new.
Exedras were usually public. Rhetoricians and philosophers gathered in exedras. They opened into the peristyle to dispute in Roman gymnasiums. Basilicas featured a large exedra. Magistrates sat there to hear cases. It was typically raised several steps.
Following Rome’s example, exedras remained popular after Rome’s fall. In Byzantine and Romanesque architecture, it became the apse. The term “exedra” now describes secondary apses. These are niches in complex Byzantine church plans. Another term is “conch.” This refers to the scallop shell shape of the half-dome cap.
Donato Bramante famously used the exedra. He used it in the Cortile del Belvedere extension of the Vatican Palace. Initially, this exedra was open to the sky.
In Muslim architecture, the exedra became a mihrab. It always has religious meaning. You can see it even on a small scale as a prayer niche. Both Baroque and Neoclassical architecture used exedrae. Baroque architects like Pietro da Cortona used them. They enriched the play of light and shadow. They gave space to expressive volumes. Neoclassical architects used them to articulate the rhythmic pacing of a wall elevation.
Robert Adam, a Scottish neoclassical architect, used the interior exedra extensively. A classic example of a Baroque exedra exists on a small scale. Look at the central niche of Rome’s Trevi Fountain. It shelters a Neptune statue.
Many classicizing bandshells in public parks are exedras. Their shape and half-dome heading reflect sound forward. Public monuments use freestanding semicircular exedras. They often have a bench. This gives a platform to a statue.
During the 18th century, the exedra was a popular garden feature. It was often an ornamental curved screening wall. It hid another part of the garden. You can find examples at Belton House and West Wycombe Park. An exedra can visually end a garden axis in landscape design. They may include seating, fountains, tile-work, and landscape lighting. These can be in traditional or contemporary styles.
So, as you explore Madrid, remember the exedra. It’s a seat, a space, and a piece of architectural history all in one.