the Italian word for a footstool or kneelingstool, hence applied to the step or platform on which an altar rests, and to a shelf raised above the altar at the back, a superaltar or gradino. The face both of the step and shelf are frequently decorated with sculpture or painting, and the term "predella" is frequently given to the sculpture or painting so used, and, further, to any painting that is a pendant to a larger work.