Module 3: Rome Flashcards
Aisle(s)
Part of a basilica plan buildings that flank the nave, separated by colonnade.
Apex
The top-most part of a structure.
Apse
Curved, semicircular end of a building, usually opposite the entrance.
Aqueducts
An architectural structure that carries water from one location to another.
Arcade
Repetitive series of arches supported by columns or piers.
Attic
The uppermost story of a building or other architectural structure like triumphal arches and city gates.
Barrel Vault
Style of vault that is in the form of an extended rounded arch.
Broken or open pediment
Architectural feature that does not meet in the middle.
Buttresses
Projections from walls that supply reinforcement and support, allowing structures to be built upwards.
CE or Common Era
Time period referring to the time after Christ’s birth.
Centering
Temporary wooden structure in Roman architecture during the construction of arches.
Clerestory
Fenestrated part of a building rising above adjacent rooflines, allowing light into a building.
Coffered
Sunken or recessed panel surrounded by moldings, usually found in a ceiling.
Curule
Roman “X” shaped stool for high ranking individuals.
Drum
The support on which a dome rests.
Fenestrated
a having windows.
Groin or Cross vault
Two connecting barrel vaults at right angles.
Keystone
Center stone in an arch, sometimes decorated.
Modillions
projecting decorative brackets that support an overhanging roof or cornice.
Nave
Central and widest portion of a basilica plan building flanked by aisles and with an apse at one end.
Oculus
Circular opening at the top of a dome, allows light into domed buildings.
Pilasters
applied decorative projection like a column with a base, shaft and capital.
Pilastrade
series of pilasters arranged in rows.
Porta
Monumental gateway in a Roman fortified city wall.
Thrust
Outward force exerted on an arch or vault; counterbalanced by buttresses.
Trompe l’oeil
“Fool the eye”, paintings executed in three-dimensional perspective that appear to be ‘real’ rather than painted.
Voussoirs
Wedge shaped stone blocks used to construct arches.
Hypocaust
A type of radiant heating system. Masonry floors were raised on brick or stone piers, leaving a space for slaves to keep charcoal braziers burning. Later adding the addition of vertical flues to bring heat up into the space
