In Architecture What Is Exedra?

Exedra, also spelled Exhedra, in architecture, semicircular or rectangular niche with a raised seat; more loosely applied, the term also refers to the apse (q.v.) of a church or to a niche therein. ... The exedra directly across from the entrance is domed; each of the remaining six exedrae is faced with two marble columns.

What was the exedra used for?

“Exedra, which properly signifies a seat out of doors, came to be used for a chamber furnished with seats, and opening into a portico, where people met to enjoy conversation; [. . .], which were used for the lectures and disputa- tions of the rhetoricians and philosophers” (Smith 480).

What exedra means?

1 : a room (as in a temple or house) in ancient Greece and Rome used for conversation and formed by an open or columned recess often semicircular in shape and furnished with seats. 2 : a large outdoor nearly semicircular seat with a solid back.