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In architecture, a cupola (Template:IPAc-en)<ref>Template:Cite Merriam-Webster</ref> is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building<ref name="ARCHSEE">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> often crowning a larger roof or dome.<ref name="AHD">Template:Cite American Heritage Dictionary</ref><ref name="WHATCUP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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), Template:Etymology (Latin cupa), indicating a vault resembling an upside-down cup.Template:Efn
The cylindrical drum underneath a larger cupola is called a tholobate.
BackgroundEdit
The cupola evolved during the Renaissance from the older oculus. Being weatherproof, the cupola was better suited to the wetter climates of northern Europe. Template:Citation needed The chhatri, seen in Indian architecture, fits the definition of a cupola when it is used atop a larger structure.Template:Citation needed
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.<ref name="WHATCUP"/> Barns often have cupolas for ventilation.<ref name="barncupola">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Inc.1980">Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- White marble cupolas cap minarets at the Tomb of Jahangir.jpg
White marble cupolas cap minarets at the Tomb of Jahangir in Lahore, Pakistan
- Santa Maria del Fiore, Duomo.JPG
The dome of Florence Cathedral with a roof lanternat the top
- Great Mosque Minaret - Kairouan, Tunisia.jpg
Ribbed cupola crowns the minaret of the Mosque of Uqba, in Kairouan, Tunisia.
- Cupola - Armenian Orthodox church in Lvov.jpg
Inside of Armenian Orthodox church cupola in Lviv, Ukraine.
- ISS STS130 Cupola view of Algeria coast.jpg
View from the interior of the Cupola module on the International Space Station.
- Brivio.church.cupola.jpg
Trompe-l'œil painting of a cupola in a church in Northern Italy (Brivio)
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On armoured vehiclesEdit
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,<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.