cupola

{{Short description|Architectural structure on top of a building}}

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{{Distinguish|Copula (disambiguation){{!}}Copula}}

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In architecture, a cupola ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|(|j|)|uː|p|ə|l|ə}}){{cite Merriam-Webster|cupola}} is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building{{cite web |url=http://www.archiseek.com/guides/glossary/c.html |title=Glossary of Architectural Terms - C |access-date=3 January 2009 |publisher=Archiseek: Online Architecture Resources |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227054353/http://www.archiseek.com/guides/glossary/c.html |archive-date=27 December 2008 }} often crowning a larger roof or dome.{{cite American Heritage Dictionary |cupola |access-date=2015-04-26}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cupola.com/whatscu1.htm |title=Just what is a cupola anyway? |access-date=3 January 2009 |publisher=Cupola Consulting}} Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout.

The word derives, via Italian, from lower Latin cupula (classical Latin cupella), {{etymology|grc|{{wikt-lang|grc|κύπελλον}} ({{grc-transl|κύπελλον}})|small cup}} (Latin cupa), indicating a vault resembling an upside-down cup.{{efn|In Italian, cupola simply means "dome", and the ornamental top element, allowing light to enter, is called a lantern ({{langx|it|lanterna}}).}}

The cylindrical drum underneath a larger cupola is called a tholobate.

Background

The cupola evolved during the Renaissance from the older oculus. Being weatherproof, the cupola was better suited to the wetter climates of northern Europe. {{citation needed|date=February 2015}} The chhatri, seen in Indian architecture, fits the definition of a cupola when it is used atop a larger structure.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

Cupolas often serve as a belfry, belvedere, or roof lantern above a main roof. In other cases they may crown a spire, tower, or turret. Barns often have cupolas for ventilation.{{Cite web |url=https://madisonbarns.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/what-is-a-cupola-and-why-do-barns-have-them/ |title=What is a cupola and why do barns have them?|date=17 March 2014 |access-date=15 November 2015}}{{cite journal|author=Active Interest Media, Inc.|title=Old-House Journal|journal=Old House Journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WgFVx0D9cXYC&pg=PA177|date=November 1980|publisher=Active Interest Media, Inc.|page=177|issn=0094-0178}}

Cupolas can also appear as small buildings in their own right.

The square, dome-like segment of a North American railroad train caboose that contains the second-level or "angel" seats is also called a cupola.{{cite web|title=Railroad Dictionary: A|url=http://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-csx/company-overview/railroad-dictionary/?i=A|website=CSX.com|publisher=CSX Transportation|access-date=18 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801232839/http://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-csx/company-overview/railroad-dictionary/?i=A|archive-date=1 August 2015}}{{cite book|first=Darcy|last=Zabel|title=The (Underground) Railroad in African American Literature|date=2005|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9780820468167|page=[https://archive.org/details/undergroundrailr0000zabe/page/5 5]|url=https://archive.org/details/undergroundrailr0000zabe |url-access=registration}}

File:White marble cupolas cap minarets at the Tomb of Jahangir.jpg|White marble cupolas cap minarets at the Tomb of Jahangir in Lahore, Pakistan

File:Santa Maria del Fiore, Duomo.JPG|The dome of Florence Cathedral with a roof lanternat the top

File:Cupola ceiling Synagogue Gyor Hungary.jpg|Interior of cupola ceiling in the old Synagogue of Győr, Hungary.

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

File:Cupola - Armenian Orthodox church in Lvov.jpg|Inside of Armenian Orthodox church cupola in Lviv, Ukraine.

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 painting of a cupola in a church in Northern Italy (Brivio)

File:Type 91 Ha-Go (Bovington 2016).jpg

On armoured vehicles

The term cupola can also refer to the protrusions atop an armoured fighting vehicle due to their distinctive dome-like appearance. They allow crew or personnel to observe, offering very good all round vision, {{cite web|title=#15 Turrets: They are the Combat Power of the Tank|url=http://www.theshermantank.com/tag/all-around-cupola/|website=theshermantank.com|date=22 November 2015 |access-date=20 February 2023}} or even field weaponry, without being exposed to incoming fire. Later designs, however, became progressively flatter and less prominent as technology evolved to allow designers to reduce the profile of their vehicles.

Notes

References

External links

Cupola