Editing Triumphal arch (section)

{{short description|Monumental structure in the form of an archway}}
{{for|the woodcut print|Triumphal Arch (woodcut)}}
[[File:Triumphal Arch of Orange, built during the reign of Augustus on the Via Agrippa to Lyon, Arausio (14827022832).jpg|thumb|The [[Triumphal Arch of Orange]] in [[Orange, Vaucluse|Orange]], France, the oldest surviving triple-arched Roman triumphal arch, probably built during the reign of Emperor [[Augustus]] (27 BC–14 AD), later reconstructed by emperor [[Tiberius]] ({{circa}} 20–27 AD)]]

A '''triumphal arch''' is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an [[arch]]way with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal arch consists of two massive [[Pier (architecture)|pier]]s connected by an arch, typically crowned with a flat [[entablature]] or [[Attic style|attic]] on which a statue might be mounted or which bears commemorative inscriptions. The main structure is often decorated with carvings, sculpted reliefs, and dedications. More elaborate triumphal arches may have multiple archways, or in a [[tetrapylon]], passages leading in four directions.
[[File:Arc de Triomphe, Paris 21 October 2010.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Arc de Triomphe]], Paris, begun by [[Napoleon]] in 1806]]

Triumphal arches are one of the most influential and distinctive types of [[ancient Roman architecture]]. Effectively invented by the Romans, and using their skill in making arches and vaults, the Roman triumphal arch was used to commemorate victorious generals or significant public events such as the founding of new [[Colonia (Roman)|colonies]], the construction of a road or bridge, the death of a member of the imperial family or the accession of a new emperor.

Archaeologists like to distinguish between a true "triumphal arch", built to celebrate an actual [[Roman triumph]], a grand procession declared by the [[Roman Senate]] following military victory, a "memorial arch" arch or "honourary arch", essentially built by emperors to celebrate themselves, and arches, typically in city walls, that are merely grand gateways. But the groups are often conflated. Often actual Roman triumphal arches were initially in wood and other rather temporary materials, only later replaced by one in stone; the majority of ancient survivals are actually from the other two groups.  

The survival of great Roman triumphal arches such as the [[Arch of Titus]] or the [[Arch of Constantine]] has inspired many post-Roman states and rulers, up to the present day, to erect their own triumphal arches in emulation of the Romans. Triumphal arches in the Roman style have been built in many cities around the world, including the [[Arc de Triomphe]] in [[Paris]], the [[Narva Triumphal Arch]] in [[Saint Petersburg]], or [[Marble Arch]] and the [[Wellington Arch]] in London.  After about 1820 arches are often [[memorial gates and arches]] built as a form of [[war memorial]], or [[city gate]]s such as the [[Brandenburg Gate]] in Berlin, the [[Washington Square Arch]] in [[New York City]], or the [[India Gate]] in [[New Delhi]], which although patterned after triumphal arches, were built to memorialise war casualties, to commemorate a civil event (the country's independence, for example), or to provide a monumental entrance to a city, as opposed to celebrating a military success or general.

In architecture, "triumphal arch" is also the name given to the arch above the entrance to the [[chancel]] of a medieval church where a [[rood]] can be placed.<ref>Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'', 2nd ed., OUP, Oxford and New York, p. 658. {{ISBN|978-0-19-860678-9}}.</ref> and more generally a combination of "one large and two small doorways",<ref>Fleming, Honour, and Pevsner, 326</ref> such as [[Leon Battista Alberti]]'s façades for the [[Tempio Malatestiano]] and [[San Andrea, Mantua]].<ref>Summerson, 23-24, 34-35</ref>