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History of the Cupola
In architecture, a cupola consists of a dome-shape
or quadrilateral-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 come, 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.
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 he main
roof. If the cupola can be reached by climbing a stair way 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.
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.
The term cupolas is also often used for a projection
above the roof of a barn, which is primarily there for ventilation
proposes.
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