Belvedere Temple, Etruscan archaeological temple in Orvieto, Italy.
Belvedere Temple is an Etruscan religious building in Orvieto built on a rectangular platform with three adjoining chambers and a four-column entrance. The foundations remain visible near Saint Patrick's Well and display the typical construction methods of Etruscan sacred structures.
This religious structure was built between the 6th and 5th centuries BC at the height of Etruscan civilization in central Italy. The site was accidentally discovered in 1828 during the construction of Via Cassia Nuova, which exposed portions of its physical remains.
The temple was dedicated to Tinia, the Etruscan god equivalent to Zeus, and its decorative terracottas show artistic influences from Southern Italy. You can see these ornamental pieces today at the Faina Museum, where they reveal the religious importance this place once held.
You can view the site's remains on location near Saint Patrick's Well, where they are partly exposed and accessible in the open. However, the best-preserved pieces with their decorative elements are housed in the Faina Museum on Piazza Duomo, where they are displayed alongside other excavated objects.
Below the temple lay an underground chamber lined with cocciopesto and a water cistern, suggesting this place was designed for specific ritual ceremonies. These water systems reveal that the Etruscans employed sophisticated techniques for their religious practices.
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