Lantern tower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In architecture, the lantern tower is a tall construction above the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church, with openings through which light from outside can shine down to the crossing (so it also called a crossing lantern).
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2022) |
Many lantern towers are usually octagonal, and give an extra dimension to the decorated interior of the dome.
An affiliated term is the Italian tiburio, which is the lantern atop a dome. Like a lantern tower, a tiburio is often polygonal and interspersed with windows both to lighten the load and allow for light to shine. The word tiburio is from the Medieval Latin tiburium (lit. 'hut', a variant of tugurium).[1][2]