Cupola of St Peter's Basilica, Rome

In architecture, a cupola consists of a dome-shaped ornamental structure located on top of a larger roof or dome, often used as a lookout or to admit light and provide ventilation. The word comes, through Italian, from the lower latin 'cupula' (classical latin 'cupella' from the greek 'kupellon') small cup (lat. 'cupa') indicating a vault resembling an upside down cup. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (420x611, 198 KB) Summary {{ |Description=The dome of San Pietro in Vaticano (Saint Peters Basilica) in Rome, seen from the roof of Engelsburg |Source=clip of photograph taken by Wolfgang Stuck |Date=Sept 2004 |Author=Wolfgang Stuck |Permission=released in... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (420x611, 198 KB) Summary {{ |Description=The dome of San Pietro in Vaticano (Saint Peters Basilica) in Rome, seen from the roof of Engelsburg |Source=clip of photograph taken by Wolfgang Stuck |Date=Sept 2004 |Author=Wolfgang Stuck |Permission=released in... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... St Peters Basilica (topped with a lantern), Rome A dome is a common structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. ... A roof tiled in imitation of thatch at Croyde, north Devon, England Rooftops in Vietnam Snow on the roof The roof, the top covering of a building, is one of the universal structures found on all buildings. ...

In some cases, the entire main roof of a tower or spire can form a single cupola. More frequently, however, the cupola comprises a smaller structure which sits on top of the main roof. If the cupola can be reached by climbing a stairway inside the building, it is referred to as a belvedere or widow's walk. Some cupolas, called lanterns, have small windows which illuminate the areas below. Spiral (double helix) stairway in the Vatican Museum Stairs, staircase, stairway, stairwell, and flight of stairs are all names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps. ... Belvedere (occasionally Belvidere) is an architectural term adopted from the Italian (literally fair view), which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. ...

In the Greek revival architecture, often seen in older homes of Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania, especially in the Finger Lakes region, cupolas are often seen as a small room that extends above the main roof line. They may be square, rectangular, octagonal or round. In local folklore, they are regarded as Indian lookouts, but they may have also been created simply to offer a scenic view, which fits with the other name, belvedere, an Italian term denoting a fair view. Personal residence of Catherine the Great Greek Revival was a style of classical architecture which became fashionable in Europe in the 18th century, and in the United Kingdom and United States in the early 19th century. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Upstate New York is the region of New York State outside of the core of the New York metropolitan area. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 160 miles (255 km)  - Length 280 miles (455 km)  - % water 2. ... New Yorks Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are glacially formed lakes in upstate New York, mainly linear in shape, each lake oriented on a north-south axis. ...

The term cupola is also often used for a projection above the roof of a barn, which is primarily there for ventilation purposes. A barn in southern Ontario, Canada A barn in Wisconsin A barn in Poland A round barn in Fayette County, Indiana This article is about a type of agricultural building, for other uses see Barn (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Turret
• Cupola caboose
• Chhatri

Corbelled corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow. ... A Burlington Northern Railroad extended vision caboose at the end of a train entering Eola Yard, Aurora, Illinois, in 1993. ... The Cenotaph, London Overview A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. ...

External links

• Cupolas in Architecture
• Cupolas for Sale