architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...

-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger

roof A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temp ...

or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from lower Latin ''cupula'' (classical Latin ''cupella''), (Latin ''cupa''), indicating a vault resembling an upside-down cup.

Background

The cupola evolved during the Renaissance from the older

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American s ...

. Being weatherproof, the cupola was better suited to the wetter climates of northern Europe. The

chhatri ''Chhatri'' are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they serve as decorative elements. The earliest example of chhatri being used in t ...

, seen in

Indian architecture Indian architecture is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Among a number of architectural styles and traditions, the best-known include the many varieties of Hindu temple architecture, Indo-Islamic architecture, especially Mughal ...

, fits the definition of a cupola when it is used atop a larger structure. Cupolas often serve as a belfry, belvedere, or

roof lantern A roof lantern is a daylighting architectural element. Architectural lanterns are part of a larger roof and provide natural light into the space or room below. In contemporary use it is an architectural skylight structure. A lantern roof w ...

above a main roof. In other cases they may crown a

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

, or turret. Barns often have cupolas for ventilation. Cupolas can also appear as small buildings in their own right. The square, dome-like segment of a North American railroad train

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, dama ...

that contains the second-level or "angel" seats is also called a cupola.

Gallery

File:White marble cupolas cap minarets at the Tomb of Jahangir.jpg, White marble cupolas cap minarets at the

Tomb of Jahangir The Tomb of Jahangir ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum built for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The mausoleum dates from 1637, and is located in Shahdara Bagh near city of Lahore, Pakistan, along the banks of the Ravi River. The site is famous ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

File:Montefiascone cupola.JPG, Cupolas on the towers of Montefiascone Cathedral, Italy. File:Cupola ceiling Synagogue Gyor Hungary.jpg, Interior of cupola ceiling in the old Synagogue of

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of t ...

, Hungary. File:Great Mosque Minaret - Kairouan, Tunisia.jpg, Ribbed cupola crowns the minaret of the

Mosque of Uqba The Great Mosque of Kairouan ( ar, جامع القيروان الأكبر), also known as the Mosque of Uqba (), is a mosque situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan, Tunisia and is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic mo ...

, in Kairouan, Tunisia. File:Cupola - Armenian Orthodox church in Lvov.jpg, Inside of Armenian Orthodox church cupola in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

, Ukraine. File:Old Barn at Brookwood Farm MA 02.jpg, Cupolas were also used on some old

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen ...

s for ventilation. File:ISS STS130 Cupola view of Algeria coast.jpg, View from the interior of the Cupola module on the International Space Station. File:Brivio.church.cupola.jpg,

Trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

painting of a cupola in a church in Northern Italy (

Brivio Brivio ( Brianzöö: ; Bergamasque: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Lecco, in the Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of ...

) File:Cupola caboose.jpg, A cupola-style

with an "angel seat" above

Notes

References

{{History of architecture Architectural elements

Cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fr ...

Background

Gallery

See also

Notes

References