classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

, the term attic refers to a storey or a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

above the cornice of a classical façade. The decoration of the topmost part of a building was particularly important in ancient Greek architecture and this came to be seen as typifying the ''Attica'' style, the earliest example known being that of the monument of Thrasyllus in Athens. It was largely employed in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, where their triumphal arches utilized it for inscriptions or for bas-relief sculpture. It was used also to increase the height of enclosure walls such as those of the

Forum of Nerva Forum of Nerva (; ) is an ancient structure in Rome, Italy, chronologically the next to the last of the Imperial fora built. Forum of Nerva (Forum Transitorium) The Imperial fora within the city of Rome have, in recent decades, become again a ...

. By the Italian revivalists it was utilized as a complete storey, pierced with windows, as found in Andrea Palladio's work in Vicenza and in Greenwich Hospital, London. One well-known large attic surmounts the entablature of St. Peter's Basilica, which measures in height. Decorated attics with pinnacles are often associated with the Late Renaissance (

Mannerist architecture Mannerism is a Style (visual arts), style in Art of Europe, European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the ...

) period in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and are viewed as a distinct feature of Polish historical architecture (''attyka polska''). Many examples can be found throughout the country, notably at Wawel Castle in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

Zamość Zamość (; ; ) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. Zamość was founded in 1580 by Jan Zamoyski ...

, Sandomierz and Kazimierz Dolny. Possibly the best example of a rich Italianate attic is at Krasiczyn Castle. This usage became current in the 17th century from the use of ''Attica'' style

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s as adornments on the top story's façade. By the 18th century this meaning had been transferred to the space behind the wall of the highest story (i.e., directly under the roof), producing the modern meaning of the word " attic".

References

American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1940), pp. 159-161
Architectural elements Rooms {{room-stub