In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium ("ciborion": κιβώριον in Greek) is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct for examples in churches. Really a baldachin (originally an exotic type of silk from Baghdad) should have a textile covering, or at least, as at Saint Peter´s in Rome, imitate one. There are exceptions; Bernini´s structure in Saint Peter´s, Rome is always called the baldachin.
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