Loggia

In architecture, a loggia ( LOH-j(ee-)ə, usually UK: LOJ-(ee-)ə, Italian: [ˈlɔddʒa]) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only partial, with the upper part usually supported by a series of columns or arches. An overhanging loggia may be supported by a baldresca. From the early Middle Ages, nearly every Italian comune had an open arched loggia in its main square, which served as a "symbol of communal justice and government and as a stage for civic ceremony".