Dictionary of Architecture

Abacus
The upper part of the capital that connects to the architrave or the impost of the arch. In the Doric and Corinthian orders, it has the shape of a smooth parallelepiped, with a square or rectangular plan if it rests on a semi-column. In the Corinthian order, it is mixtilinear, with four concave faces decorated, in the center, with a rosette or other geometric or floral motifs.

Dormer
An opening or window for ventilating the attic, or allowing access to the roof.

Apse
The hemicycle-shaped part placed at the end of pagan basilicas and later in Christian churches.

Acanto
A herbaceous plant with broad leaves, used in antiquity as a model for decorating the base of Corinthian and Composite capitals. It can also appear in bas-reliefs on continuous friezes, in a stylized tendril shape.

Accollo (in)
The parts of a building supported by brackets or other supports, which protrude from the live part of the wall.

Acroterium
Pedestal placed at the corners and at the top of the pediment.

Acrostoli
Archaeological term used to indicate the ornaments carved into the pediments of funerary urns.

Bitten (or bitten)
The portion of the stones left protruding from the ends of walls to allow for later construction. The protruding stones are called borni, the spaces between them are called morse, and their combinations are called setbacks.

Aedes
A Latin term originally indicating a house or dwelling; in later Roman usage and in architecture, a sacred or public building, especially a temple.

Overhang
Protrusion of a molding, a frame or part of a bas-relief.

Ambo
A podium enclosed on three sides by a parapet, accessed by a staircase. In modern churches, the ambo is a raised platform with several steps.

Apochage
A curvature at the ends of the shaft that serves as a connection to the base, collar, or capital. Synonym: Cembra, Cimbra.

Architecture
The art of designing and constructing buildings.

Architrave
One of the three parts of the entablature resting on the columns. Any horizontal subdivisions are called fasciae or taenia. Syn.: Epistyle, Sopraccolonnio, Soprassoglio.

Astragalus
A thin molding with a semicircular, convex profile. In the Doric column, the astragal is located between the shaft and the collar. In the Corinthian and Composite orders, it appears between the shaft and the capital, as well as between the shaft and the base. The Ionic base features a pair of astragals at the center. Left: Round, Bull.

B

Base
The lower part of the column consists of a plinth and one or more toruses and scotias. It serves as a connection between the stylobate and the shaft. In the Attic Doric order, it features a fluted torus. In the Ionic order, it can take two configurations: the first, simpler and called Attic or atticurga, consists of the sequence torus-scotia-torus. The second, called Ionic and more elegant and slender in appearance, is formed in succession by torus-scotia-astragalus-astragalus-scotia-torus. Left: Spira.

Bas-relief
A sculptural work whose figures, of varying projection, rest on a background plane. It is common in metopes and friezes of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders. Synonym: Mezzo-relief.

Bietta
Brick used to build small vaults and located in the middle of the two vaults.

Bifora
Window divided vertically into two lights by a small pillar or column, on which the shutters of the double arch rest.

Twin
It refers to two identical architectural elements placed side by side, such as columns, pilasters, pilaster strips, or windows. Synonym: Paired.

born
The protruding stones that are left at the ends of walls so that they can be connected with subsequent constructions.
The spaces in between are called morse. See addentellato.

Bucranium
Decorative element of classical architecture depicting the skull of an ox or bull, often stylized and carved in stone.
The motif derives from ancient sacrificial rituals: the skulls of sacrificed animals were hung in temples as votive offerings. Hence the transition from a real object to a symbolic representation in architecture. The ornamental motif is used primarily in the decoration of friezes.

Bugna
A stone protruding from the wall. It is called simple if its protrusion is carved at a right angle, shaped if the angle is obtuse, diamond-shaped when it is faceted, rough or rustic when the face is roughly hewn. Synonym: Draft.

Ashlar
Type of architectural cladding characterized by stone blocks (ashlars) protruding from the plane of the facade, used for structural, decorative or symbolic purposes, in various workmanship and finishing variations.

C

Càlato
Ancient basket flared at the top, whose shape - chalice or bell-shaped - forms the base of the Corinthian capital, designed by Callimachus.

Capitello
The upper part of the column and the defining element of an architectural order. In the Doric and Tuscan orders, the column is composed of the abacus and the echinus. In the Ionic order, the echinus is embellished with ovules and volutes; in the Corinthian order, it takes the shape of an inverted bell, or calyx, and is decorated with acanthus leaves and cauliculi, while in the Composite order, it takes on the forms of the Corinthian, without cauliculi, and of the Ionic.
Capitals dwg

Truss (or mount or easel)
Arrangement of triangular beams used as a generally wooden structure for gable roofs, canopies
Wooden trusses dwg / Steel trusses / Reinforced concrete trusses

Chest of drawers
A space or compartment formed by the intersection of ceiling beams, often decorated with rosettes. Synonym: Lacunar.

Caulicolo
Curled stem of the acanthus plant, modeled after the ornamentation of a Corinthian capital. Typically, it occurs in two sets of four pairs: the first, larger, appears like a volute and serves as a support for the abacus; the second, which does not reach the abacus, has spirals also called helices. Synonym: Roe deer.

cable
Part of a frame with a concave profile, used to connect surfaces and modulate the sculptural and luminous effect of an architectural element. Synonym: cove (most common use in construction and interiors) and concave molding.

Hundreds
A temporary structure used as support in the construction of arches, vaults, and curved structures, removed once the load-bearing masonry is completed. Traditionally made of wood (now also made of metal).

Ceroma
The room of the public baths and ancient gymnasiums where the wrestlers were anointed.

Keystone
Stone placed in the centre of the cross vault, at the point where the ribs intersect.

Cyma
Single or composite molding that delimits the upper edge of an architectural element such as a frame, a door, a pedestal or a shelf.

Classicism
Central period of Renaissance art, between the end of the 15th century and the sack of Rome (1527), dominated by an exclusive interest in ancient art and marked by the works of artists such as Donato Bramante and Raffaello Sanzio.

Classico
A style incorporating the fundamental rules of Greek and Roman art. In Greece, the Celts period, located between the Archaic and Hellenistic periods, extended from the mid-5th to the end of the 4th century BC and is characterized by the works of artists such as Phidias and Polykleitos.

Collar
Connecting element in the form of a flattened cylinder or band, smooth or decorated, between the top of the shaft and the Doric or Tuscan capital.

Column
A load-bearing architectural member, composed of a base, shaft, and capital. Its lower portion is called the imoscape and the upper portion the sommoscape. The swelling a third of the way up is called the entasis. A column set against a wall is called a semi-column and can serve a decorative purpose. When the column reaches considerable dimensions or reaches the height of two or more stories, it is called a giant.

Composite
An architectural order invented by the Romans by combining the most beautiful elements and proportions of the Ionic and Corinthian orders. The height of the columns corresponds to ten diameters or modules.

Concio
Stone worked (dressed) and reduced to its final shape ready for installation. The keystone is the wedge-shaped stone placed at the top of an arch.

Conclave
The room in a Roman house that could be locked. In today's usage, it refers both to the room where the cardinals gather to elect the new pope, and to the actual meeting.

Contamination
The transfer of a property from one order to another, such as the insertion of a triglyph into an Ionic architrave. The C., typical of the late Renaissance, according to Vitruvius violates the rules and customs of an architectural order and fails to maintain decorum. Syn. Exception.

Counterfix
Truss beam that runs from approximately the middle of the rafter to the lower end of the monk.

Buttress
Also called a buttress, a reinforcement and support structure placed at specific points in the walls of a building with the function of resisting thrust.

Iron cover
Brick that is placed on the iron beams to set the vaults formed with the volterrane and the biette

Coppo
Also called a tegolo, it is a curved roof tile. The average size of a tile is 42–48 cm long by 12–18 cm wide and is generally made of brick. One square meter of roofing requires approximately 28–30 tiles, arranged in concave rows at the bottom (channels) and convex rows at the top (covers), with an overlap of approximately 10 cm. The weight per square meter is approximately 58–64 kg.
Textures of tiles and roofing membranes

Cordonata
Monumental staircase characterized by wide, low steps, with reduced risers and deep treads, which define a gentle, continuous flow, more similar to a ramp than a traditional staircase.
It is designed to allow for easy climbing, historically also passable on horseback or by vehicle, and is therefore used mainly in urban and ceremonial contexts.
The cordonata combines the practical function of connecting different levels with a representative function, creating a monumental path that guides movement and the gaze towards particularly significant places. It is typical of Renaissance and Baroque architecture; a famous example is the Cordonata del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Corinthian
Architectural order invented by the Greek architect Callimachus and characterized by a capital in the shape of an inverted bell, or calyx, decorated with acanthus leaves and cauliculi.

Frame
1. An element of the entablature consisting of multiple moldings and generally divided by a cornice or overframe and a subframe. The Doric cornice may feature mutuli, while the Ionic and Corinthian cornices are decorated with dentils. The cornice is also the upper part of the base of a pedestal. 2. The outline or profile of a window or door. 3. The support and frame of a painting.

cornucopia
Ornamental motif derived from the horn, traditionally depicted filled with fruit or flowers, a symbol of abundance, prosperity, and fertility. The motif is widely used in classical architectural and artistic decoration.

Corona
The top frame of the drip tray having an internal recess, or channel, to prevent rainwater from flowing down the walls.

Rib (ogive)
A pointed arch, a structural rib of a vault or dome, characteristic of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Structurally, it directs thrust to the supporting pillars.

Crepidoma
Base or plinth that supports the bulk of a building. Synonym: Stereobate.

Dome
A vaulted construction whose shape, often circular, can vary depending on the perimeter of the supporting structure. The connecting elements between the vault and the pillars are called pendentives; any cylindrical or prismatic part that serves as a hinge and support is called a tambour, while the terminal part is called a lantern, referring to the openings that let light into the interior. Synonym: Mete.

D

Nut
Middle part of the pedestal in the shape of a parallelepiped. Left: Central trunk.

Dart
Ornamental motif in the shape of an arrow with the tip pointing downwards, used to separate one ovolo from another. Left: Middle trunk.

Ambulatory
Covered portico or corridor of a circular or semicircular shape.

Decor
According to Vitruvius, one of the six parts of architecture, concerning the “beautiful appearance” of a work composed of elements and forms whose measurements and proportions are determined with taste, wisdom, consonance and uniformity.

Dentello
Moulding in the shape of small parallelepipeds applied on a flat band and used in the cornice of the Doric and Corinthian orders.

Device
According to Vitruvius, one of the six parts of architecture, consisting of the implementation of each element and in turn divided into three parts: ichnography, orthography and scenography.

Distribution
According to Vitruvius, one of the six parts of architecture, concerning the wise use of materials and surfaces, as well as a “judicious parsimony of expenditure in building”.

Doric
An architectural order inspired by the solidity and beauty of the male body. The height of the columns corresponds to six diameters or modules. The column generally has no base and rests directly on the stylobate. The shaft can be smooth or fluted. The capital is composed of the abacus and the echinus. The latter, in its earliest form, can be a truncated and inverted cone, or a flattened cylinder framed between an astragal and three steps. The frieze is divided into metopes and triglyphs.

E

Echinus
The main part of a Doric capital has a smooth surface and a convex profile, or is shaped like an inverted truncated cone. In an Ionic capital, it has a flattened shape, is inserted between volutes, and is decorated with ovoli.

Eleotèrio
Bath room for anointing and perfuming yourself.

Helices
The minor volutes of the Corinthian capital.

Ephebeian
A place intended for gymnastic exercises, especially wrestling.

Hemicycle
The part of an amphitheater or circus where the seats on which the spectators sat were located.

Encarpo
Frieze decorated with festoons.

Enode
A small column surmounted by a small bust of Mercury, Jupiter, Hercules, etc., which the ancients placed at crossroads.

Entasis
A swelling given to the column at the lower third of its height. The entasis, barely hinted at in Greek architecture, was instead greatly accentuated in the Baroque style. Left: Belly.

Epistyle
Sin. Architrave. Gr. epistylion, epi = above and stylos = column.

Epitide
Classical term to indicate the upper member of a frame.

Erechtheum
Greek temple that stood on the Acropolis of Athens dedicated to Athena, Polias, Posidon and Pandrosos.

Ermeo
Hall of the largest palaces of imperial Rome, dedicated to Mercury and usually reserved for banquets.

Hexastyle
Building whose facade is decorated with six columns.

Exedra
Among the Greeks, it was that part of the porticoes and gymnasiums where the rhetoricians' chairs were located; for the Romans, it was a meeting room in the homes of patricians. Generally, any building with an arch and columns.

Extrados
The outer, convex surface of an arch or vault.

Eurythmia
According to Vitruvius, one of the six parts of architecture, consisting of the grace of the figure and the attention to the dimensions and proportions of the individual elements.

F

Skirt
The sloping surface of a roof, also called a pitch. The lines where the water meets are called impluviums; those where the water divides are called ridges.

Head Band
1. A cornice with a slight projection. 2. One of the two or three parts into which an architrave can be divided, generally sloping and slightly inclined. Syn.: Tenia, Molding.

Femur
Strip that divides the glyphs.

Festoon
An ornamental motif consisting of a bundle of leaves, flowers, and fruit. A frieze adorned with festoons is called an encarp.

Phytomorph
In architecture phytomorph it means, in essence, “that takes shape from plants”.
Decoration with floral or vegetal motifs, present in festoons or other architectural elements.
In general it is a term used when shapes, structures, patterns, or design concepts they recall the plant world: trees, leaves, branches, flowers, roots.

Frieze

1Decoration with a horizontal trend. 2Part of the entablature between the architrave and the cornice.
The Doric frieze, and sometimes the Tuscan frieze, is divided into metopes and triglyphs, while the frieze of the other orders is continuous and almost always decorated with bas-reliefs. Lat. phrygium = embroidery.

Pediment
Crowning with a triangular profile composed of a tympanum, sima, and acroteria. Left: Crowning, Fastigium, Frontispiece.

Frame
The main part of the column between the base and the capital. In the older Doric order, it rests directly on the stylobate. It can be smooth, fluted, or dentate. Syn. Scapo, Trunk. Lat. fustis = stick, pole.

G

Glyph
Angled groove or groove found in triglyphs.

Goccia
Ornament in the shape of a small truncated cone present in the triglyph, the mutule, and the dripstone. Sin. Campanella, Gocciola.

Drip tray
Part of the entablature frame consisting of a projecting band and having the function of preventing rainwater from flowing down the wall. Left: Crown.

Gola
Molding with an S-shaped profile. It can be decorated with small acanthus leaves or other plants such as water tribulus, oak or ivy.

Welcome
A single element of a molding or decoration with an inverted ladder or sawtooth profile. It frames the upper part of the echinus.

Spire
A decorative architectural element with a pyramidal or conical shape, placed at the top of vertical structures such as bell towers, towers, and buttresses. Widely used in Gothic architecture.

H

Hegemones
Concave tiles from ancient Greek architecture, used in roofing to form drainage channels. Arranged parallel to the eaves, they alternated with kalýpteres, which covered the joints between one hegemon and the next.
Their curved shape derives from the original plant coverings (straw, reeds), of which they retain the formal memory, constituting an example of constructive phytomorphism.

heroon (Heroo)
A funerary and celebratory building, often in the form of a small temple, dedicated in ancient Greece to the memory and cult of a hero (mythical or historical).
It could be erected over the hero's actual or symbolic tomb, or within or on the outskirts of the city, also assuming a civic and identity-building role. The heroon was a place of rites, offerings, and commemorations, halfway between a sacred space and a funerary monument.

Heraion (of Samos)
A temple dedicated to Hera (Juno) located on the island of Samos, one of the most important sanctuaries of ancient Greece. Built in the Ionic order, the Heraion was rebuilt several times between the Archaic and Classical periods, reaching monumental proportions.
The great archaic temple (6th century BC) was dipteral, with a double perimeter colonnade, and is considered a fundamental model for the development of Ionic temple architecture. The sanctuary played a prominent religious and political role in the Aegean world.

I

Ichnography
According to Vitruvius, one of the three parts of the dispositio is the plan drawing.

Iconostasis
A higher and more monumental partition than a simple balustrade that divides the presbytery from the rest of the church.

Imoscapo
Lower part of the shaft of a column which, in the Doric order, rests on the stylobate while, in the other orders, on the base.

Ionic
An architectural order inspired by feminine slenderness. The columns are eight diameters or modules high. The base has two variants, both with a plinth. The first, simpler and known as Attic or Atticurgal, is composed of the sequence torus-scotia-torus. The second, known as Ionic and more elegant and slender in appearance, is composed of the sequence torus-scotia-astragalus-astragalus-scotia-torus. The shaft is fluted, and the capital is composed of an abacus and an echinus decorated with ovoli and terminating in four volutes. The frieze is continuous and generally decorated with bas-reliefs. The cornice is dentilled.

L

Maze
A place artfully constructed to obscure anyone who enters and make it difficult to escape. The labyrinth at Knossos in Crete, built by Daedalus, is famous.

Lacunar
Sin. Chest of drawers.

Lantern
See dome.

Paving (or cobblestones)
Road paving made of stone slabs or blocks, limestone ashlars, sandstone, marble, granite, etc.

Brick
Building material obtained from kiln-fired clay. They can be solid (bricks, hollow bricks, flat tiles, roof tiles, etc.) or hollow (perforated bricks, hollow bricks, concrete covers, vaulting bricks, etc.).

Pilaster
A semi-pillar leaning against a wall for decorative purposes. Left: Pilaster.

Listello
Smooth, flat-surfaced moulding used to separate other architectural members. Syn.: Regolo, Lista, Pianetto.

Lunetta
A semicircular or moon-shaped surface placed above a door or window, or at the top of a panel. A large L-shaped window with two pillars inside is called a thermal window.

M

Metope
A panel forming part of a Doric frieze, punctuated by triglyphs. It may be decorated with rosettes, bucrania, panoplies, cuirasses, shields, or other elements.

Molding
A prominence of an architectural frame formed by a hollow or a groove, or decorated with ovoli. Sin. Cyma, Membrane.

Modiglione
S-shaped architectural element with a load-bearing function and present in the cornice of the Corinthian and Composite entablature.

Module
Unit of measurement. According to Vitruvius, in the ideal man, the height of the head corresponds to one-tenth of that of the body. In time, the module corresponds to the diameter of the column or the triglyph, and from their measurements—according to specific numerical ratios—the dimensions of all other elements derive.

Monaco
The central element of a wooden truss placed vertically between the heads of the two rafters.

Mortgage
S-shaped frame, similar to the modillion, but smaller in size and with fewer decorations.

N

Naos
The temple cell.

Narthex
The portico preceding the church, inside which the catechumens remained.

Ribbon
Interval between two bosses.

Navata
The part of a temple or church divided from the rest by a row of columns. The central nave is called the middle aisle, while the flanking aisles are called lateral naves.

Neoclassical
A period in art history spanning the mid-18th century and the early 19th century, during which Baroque art was abandoned for a return to the study and imitation of Greco-Roman and Renaissance art. Its principal theorists included Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and among the artists, Antonio Canova.

Niche
Recess in the wall for the placement of statues or other objects.

Nymphaeum
A place, cave or other, dedicated by the ancients to the nymphs.

nuraghi
Ancient constructions characteristic of Sardinia. They are truncated cone-shaped stone towers dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. They were the center of social life for the ancient Sardinians and gave their civilization its name, the Nuragic civilization, one of the most mysterious and least known in the Mediterranean.

O

Obelisco
Monolith in the shape of a truncated square pyramid characteristic of Egyptian art.

Odeon
A place in Greek and Roman civilization reserved for music and poetry competitions. A small theater for concerts.

Warhead
A pointed arch, a structural rib of a vault or dome, characteristic of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Structurally, it directs thrust to the supporting pillars.

Oikos
A room in ancient houses designated for women's work. From an architectural point of view, the oikos was the heart of the house. In the simplest homes it could be a single multifunctional environment; in the more complex ones it was part of a system of rooms organised around a courtyard.

Opisthodomos
For the ancient Greeks, the rear part of the temple, opposite the pronaos.

Ordinatio
According to Vitruvius, one of the six parts of architecture, consisting of the knowledge of the measurements of individual architectural members and their proportions with respect to a module or unit of measurement.

Order
An architectural structure based on the trilithic system (pedestal, column, entablature) and consisting—especially in temples—of the sequence of a crepidoma, base, shaft, capital, entablature (architrave, frieze, cornice), and tympanum. In classical architecture, there are five main orders—Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite—the main differences between which lie in the proportions and decorations of the individual elements, particularly the capitals. The Attic Doric has a base with a fluted torus, while the Attic Ionic has a base with a single scotia.

hem
Connecting element with a concave profile between the base of the column - with a circular plan - and the pedestal, with a square plan.

Orthography
According to Vitruvius, one of the three parts of the dispositio consists of the elevation drawing.

Egg
Moulding decorated with ovoid or bull's-eye decorations alternating with dart motifs.

P

Parasta
A semi-pillar resting against a wall with the function of a buttress or load-bearing structure. Gr. parastás = jamb, door.

Plume
See dome.

Pedestal
An architectural element consisting of a base (plinth and cornice), a dado, and a cymatium. When placed on a pediment, the plinth is called an acroterion. The plinth can appear as a stand-alone element or, more often, as a support for columns or statues.

Pillar
A square architectural element that serves the same purpose as a column. A pilaster can be simple or composed of a base, shaft, and capital.

Pinnacle (or spire)
A typical architectural element of Gothic architecture, shaped like a small tower with a spire (pyramidal or conical spire), it is inserted at specific points where the arches distribute their weight (pylons and buttresses). These vertical elements, in addition to being an architectural feature, contribute with their weight to the statics of the building by "straightening" the oblique thrusts coming from the arches.

Plinth
The lower part of the base of a column, shaped like a smooth, square parallelepiped. When placed on a pedestal, it is called a plinth.

Podium
Plinth surrounding a building.

Polyptera
It indicates a temple surrounded by several concentric colonnades (i.e. several "rings" of columns all around the cella). From the Greek polypteros = with many wings, where the “wings” are precisely the porticoes/colonnades.

Polystyle
It indicates a building (or a facade) with many columns, without however specifying how they are arranged.

pig
Lightening space located above the vaults, between the extrados of the arch and the floor above, intentionally left empty to reduce the load on the vaulted structures.

Presbytery
A space within a Christian place of worship, located around the high altar and reserved for the officiating clergy. Generally raised above the congregation hall, it is often separated from it by steps, balustrades, transennae, or architectural elements.
The presbytery houses the altar, the celebrant's chair, and, in many cases, the ambo. Symbolically and functionally, it represents the liturgical heart of the church.

Proportion
Numerical relationship between the dimensions of an architectural element and another taken as a unit of measurement.

Proscenium
The part of the theatrical stage located in front of the stage and in direct contact with the audience. In classical theatrical architecture, it referred to the frontal architectural structure of the stage, often decorated with columns, niches, and reliefs, which formed the backdrop for the theatrical action.
In modern theatre, the term refers to the space on the stage between the curtain and the auditorium, as well as the set of architectural elements that frame the scene.

Prostas
Element of the ancient Greek dwelling, consisting of a portico or covered colonnaded space placed in front of the main rooms of the house, in particular theoikos.
La prostate It served as a mediating area between the open space (courtyard) and the enclosed space, offering protection from the elements and a place for passage and rest. It is typical of the Greek prostas house, especially widespread in the Ionian area and Asia Minor.

Prostyle
In classical architecture, a building (especially a temple) characterized by the presence of a colonnaded portico only on the front facade. The columns are arranged in front of the pronaos, while the sides and rear of the building are without them. The prostyle temple represents an intermediate typology between the temple in antis and that peripteral.

Strut
Inclined structural element of the truss, placed between the ridge and the tie, with a predominantly compressive function; it contributes to the transmission of roof loads to the supports and to the stability of the structural assembly.

Q

Quadrifronte
For example, it is used for an arch with four fronts and four arches. An example of a quadrifrons arch is the Arch of Janus in Rome.

Quadrilobe
Four-lobed opening

Quadriportico
An open space with four porticoed fronts.

Height
Numerical value reported on a technical or architectural drawing to indicate the actual dimensions (linear, altimetric or angular) of an element represented.
The dimension is accompanied by dimension lines, reference lines, and, where necessary, graphic symbols; it allows for the correct reading, execution, and verification of the work regardless of the drawing's scale.

R

Taper
Progressive narrowing of the diameter along the upper part of the trunk. The R. is maximum at the top of the trunk, at the height of the crown.

Rudente
A stick carved inside the groove along the lower third of the shaft. Left: Stem.

Rustico
Said of a building or wall characterised by a rough and strongly projecting ashlar surface, used with an expressive function to communicate solidity and plastic vigour.
By extension, it is defined rustic even an incompletely finished building, lacking internal and external finishing works.

S

Scalinata
A series of very wide steps located at the entrance of a prestigious building. Left: Grand Staircase.

scalino
Part of the staircase. The vertical part of the step is called the riser, while the flat part is called the tread.

Groove
Vertical cavity carved along the shaft of a column. Left: Stria.

scenography
According to Vitruvius, one of the three parts of the dispositio consists of the foreshortened or perspective drawing.

Scotland
A molding, generally circular in shape, smooth and concave in profile, serving as a separation between two tori. Sin. Cavetto, Trochilo.

Serliana
Architectural element composed of a central arched opening flanked by two lateral architraved openings, separated by columns or pillars.
It takes its name from Sebastiano Serlio, who codified its use in his treatises, although the typology was already present in Roman architecture. The Serlian arch is typical of Renaissance and Palladian architecture, where it is used both as a structural motif and as a compositional element on façades.
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Chasm
Throat-shaped cornice, generally identified with the cornice that delimits the slopes of the gable.

Symmetry
According to Vitruvius, one of the six parts of architecture, consisting of the proportional correspondence between a part and the whole of a work, measured in modules or fractions of a module.

Sommoscape
Upper part of the shaft of a column on which the capital rests.

Overframe
Upper part of the cornice consisting of a slope and drip edge. Left: Cornice.

Underframe
Part of the frame located above the frieze.

Edge
Line of union between two grooves in the Doric column.

Sloping
1. Upper part of the frame which may also be found at the top of an architrave.
2. Sloping side of the tympanum.

Statue
Plastic or sculptural work in the round.

Stylobate
Surface of a building or pedestal on which one or more columns rest.

T

Tabernacle
A temple-shaped structure present in all Catholic churches, placed on the altar where the Hosts are kept, or a niche or aedicule placed outside along a road and containing a sacred image.

Wrap rope drum with flanges
Cylindrical or polygonal architectural element that connects the supports of the building below with the dome.

Tapeworm
A cornice with a slight projection. One of the parts into which an architrave can be divided. Left: Fascia, Moulding.

Tympanum
Triangular space located above the entablature and delimited by two slopes or sime.

tondino
Molding with semicircular profile. Left: Astragalus, Taurus.

Toro
1. A molding, generally circular in plan, with a convex, semicircular profile. 2. Part of the base. In the Attic Doric, it features longitudinal grooves. In the Ionic base, it appears in the sequence torus-scotia-astragalus-astragalus-scotia-torus. Syn. Stick, Rod, Astragalus. Lat. Torus = swelling, protrusion.

Trabeation
Horizontal structure of the architectural order placed above the column and consisting of an architrave, frieze, and cornice. Latin trabs trabis = beam.

Transept
The transverse nave intersects the longitudinal body of the church, with which it is the same height, giving the building a cross shape. (Latin cross plan).

Triglyph
Decoration of the Doric frieze located between two metopes, composed of glyphs and femurs and enclosed between an upper strip, or triglyph capital, and a lower one, or taenia, under which the droplets are sculpted.

Trochilo
Sin. Scotland.

Tuscanico
Architectural order born in Tuscany and similar to the Doric order from which it differs for the sobriety of its decorations and the presence of a base.

U

Measure unit
Diameter of a column or triglyph used by the architect to determine - through precise proportional relationships - the measurements of all the other members of a building. Synonym: Module.

Urna
A vessel containing the ashes of the deceased. Funeral urns can come in various shapes and sizes, with lids.

V

Glasses
Sin. Càlato.

Viridarium
In the house of the ancient Romans, a garden, enclosed by columns, which occupied the central part of the peristyle

Tendril
Ornamental motif inspired by the plant world and with a curved, S-shaped or spiral shape.

Volta
Arch-shaped covering of a building or room.

Volterranea
Hollow brick, used to build vaults, which rests on one side against the concrete cover and on the other against the wedge.

Volute
A spiral-shaped ornamental motif characteristic of Ionic capitals and repeated in the larger volutes of Corinthian capitals. The volute has a raised strip that ends in a small circle at the center called the oculus of the volute.

Vomitory
Entrance door that led to the corridors that led to the steps of the amphitheatre or ancient theatre.

X

Xenic
Hospice for foreigners.

Schist
Covered space for use in gymnastic exercises.

Z

Plinth
1. The lower part of the base of a pedestal in the shape of a smooth parallelepiped. 2. When referring to the supporting base of a building, it is called a podium.

Zoophorus
Frieze decorated with animal figures.

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