It’s certainly presumptuous to think that all the terms used in architecture can be summarized in just a few pages. However, it is possible to summarize the most common architectural terms and divide them into two macrogroups, which we can call technical-architectural and artistic-architectural. It seems appropriate to also devote attention to the second group, selecting the most common from the vast array of possible terms, as Italy as a whole is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of history, archaeology, conservation, and restoration. Consider, for example, that our capital city is one of the world’s largest open-air museums, with countless churches dotted around every corner. Reading the glossary will reveal that a basic knowledge of artistic vocabulary can be helpful.
Architecture Glossary | Technical-Architectural Field
Driveway | ‘Access’ is defined as any driveway to a lot, from a public or private road, open to public traffic.
Hygiene Upgrades | A set of works designed to improve the hygienic conditions of a building.
Technological Upgrades | A set of works designed to improve the habitability of a building and provide it with technological services, if any, such as heating, cooling, bathrooms, etc.
Alignment | A line on which the front of a building must be aligned.
Expansion | A set of works that have the effect of enlarging a pre-existing building, initially smaller in size.
Buildable Area | A portion of land suitable for building use, in compliance with the applicable urban planning and development regulations in the given location.
Metropolitan Area | A system composed of a main city and other secondary centers, linked to the main city by intense economic and socio-cultural ties.
Urbanized Area | Area where land can be transformed from agricultural to urban land, thanks to the presence of infrastructure, services, and various facilities.
Setback | ‘Setback’ is defined as the minimum distance a building must maintain from a road infrastructure or public facility.
Basic social facilities | These include nursery schools, playgrounds and sports fields, and community centers.
Zoning | Now commonly referred to as ‘zoning,’ this is the process of dividing a territory into homogeneous zones, each reserved for a specific function: residential, industrial, public, agricultural, infrastructure, etc.
Basic cartography | Planimetric representation of a territorial area, which serves as the basis for an architectural and/or urban planning project.
Courtyard | Open area, delimited by buildings along the perimeter, used to ventilate, aerate, and illuminate non-habitable spaces (thus not intended for human habitation).
Roadside | The boundary line of the roadway, including both vehicular and pedestrian access, including shoulders and structures adjacent to the aforementioned roads, and boundary structures such as parapets and embankments.
District | A territorial area encompassing multiple municipalities, characterized by geographic, physical, economic, infrastructural, and social unity.
Consolidation | A set of works necessary to ensure the stability of a building; these include interventions involving foundations, load-bearing structures, and roofing, provided they do not involve substantial modifications to the building’s original structure.
Agreement | A contract between the municipal administration and the owner of a building lot defining specific obligations for both parties or for the owners alone (unilateral obligation), for the purpose of developing a subdivision and obtaining the necessary building permits.
Courtyard | An open, open area, bordered – entirely or partially – by buildings or fences approximately 3 meters high along the perimeter. The courtyard serves to illuminate and ventilate habitable spaces and is considered open if it borders a road or public space.
Building curtain | This occurs when the building is aligned along the edge of a public or private road open to public traffic, or along the boundary of a public space, or along any building line within the lot or multiple continuous lots.
Construction cost | Includes the works necessary to make the development technically and socially suitable for the function assigned by urban planning, be it residential, industrial, or multipurpose.
Illegal construction | Construction carried out in violation of the urban planning instrument or the building instrument, or any law or regulation; or carried out without a building permit, or, in whole or in part, in violation of it.
Completed construction | For the purposes of Art. 17 of Law 765/1967, a construction is considered “completed” when the essential structures of the building (outbuildings and roof) are completed (Council of State).
Territorial population density | The ratio between the number of inhabitants and the area of the building site.
Population density per land area | The ratio between the number of inhabitants and the area pertaining to housing, excluding roads and social facilities.
Building density | The volume in cubic meters (m3) that can be built on each square meter (m2) of building area of the lot.
Territorial building density | The ratio between the permitted buildable building volume and the area of the building site.
Building density per land area | The ratio between the permitted buildable building volume and the area pertaining to such structures, excluding roads and areas designated for standards.
Land density | This is the ratio between the permitted buildable volume and the area pertaining to such structures, excluding roads and designated areas.
Intended use | The set of uses or functions permitted by the urban planning scheme for an area or building.
Brand image | The brand image (also called brand image) defines the image as perceived by consumers and is composed of certain typical and recognizable elements, such as the company logo.
Architectural Glossary | Artistic-Architectural Field
Abacus | The final part, usually parallelepiped, of the capital of the classical orders; it serves as a support for the architrave.
Abbey | A complex of buildings and structures in which a monastic community led by an abbot lives and works.
Sketch | The preparatory stage of a work of art in its entirety. The term differs from sketch, which generally refers to a single part of the work.
Apse | An architectural structure that typically concludes the main nave (or even the side naves) of a Roman basilica and, later, of a Christian church; it has a semicircular or polygonal plan.
Apsidiole | A small chapel in the shape of an apse. It sometimes emerges from the same perimeter as the apse.
Fresco | A mural painting technique consisting of applying color to a layer of still-wet plaster.
Overhang | A term that indicates any element that protrudes from the vertical plane.
Agora | In the Greek city, it was the main public, civil, and religious space.
High relief | A sculptural technique in which some parts of the relief are completely detached from the background.
Elevation | A sculptural technique in which some parts of the relief are completely detached from the background.
Amphiprostyle | A temple with a row of four columns at the front and the same number at the back, but without a lateral colonnade.
Amphitheater | A typical Roman architectural building, with an elliptical plan, at the center of which was a flat space (arena) where the spectacles were held. This was surrounded by a multi-tiered staircase to accommodate spectators.
Amphora | A Greek and Roman vessel of various sizes and shapes used to transport wine.
Door | A door frame on a portal, especially when placed to protect an altarpiece or an organ. In architecture, a corner pillar that serves as a reinforcement.
Arabesque | A decoration rich in lines and shapes, of Hispanic-Islamic origin, hence the name. It features curves, spirals, and other elements reminiscent of plant forms, but can also feature human and animal figures.
Tapestry | A fabric intended for wall decoration. It features figures, landscapes, plant or heraldic motifs, obtained by weaving different threads.
Ark | A monumental medieval tomb, typically made of marble, often decorated with statues and reliefs at the top.
Arcade | A term used to describe an arch and the space it contains. By extension, an architectural motif composed of a series of arches.
Hanging arch | A small arch used as a decorative element, usually blind and without a pier.
Architrave | In the trilithic system, a horizontal element supported by two lateral elements (piedritti).
Arch | In architecture, a curvilinear load-bearing structure composed of small elements (còrdi) placed against each other, resting at their ends on supports called piers. By extension, a door or building with a similar structure.
We can distinguish the following types:
Round arch (or full-centered arch). It has a semicircular shape.
Tricentric arch. Its development has three different centers.
Lowered arch (or dull arch). An arch in which the impost is placed higher than the center of the arch itself. It therefore develops on a chord with a circumference smaller than the diameter.
Moorish arch (or horseshoe arch). Its center is placed higher than the impost.
Pointed arch. It is formed by the synthesis of two equal arches but with different centers, placed close together so as to present a spire.
Flying buttress. It has two different centers and different impost levels.
Blind arch | A blind arch, enclosed by a wall.
Arengario | A place of public assemblies in medieval municipalities, consisting of a building with a loggia on the ground floor. It is generally called the Broletto in Lombardy, and the Palazzo della Ragione in Venetian-influenced areas.
Atrium | The courtyard of a Hellenistic, Etruscan-Italic, and Roman house. In Christian basilicas, a courtyard, usually with a portico, preceding the entrance. Also a monumental entrance to a civil or religious building.
Attic | The upper part of a triumphal arch, typically dominated by the figure of the emperor on a quadriga. By extension, the top floor of a building, smaller than the others, located above the cornice.
Balustrade | An architectural element consisting of small columns supporting a sill, used to delimit the areas intended for the clergy in churches. It is used in civil architecture for stairways and balconies.
Baldacchino | A piece of fabric placed to cover an object or space; in a Christian basilica, the upper part of the aedicule.
Gallon | Balcony or terrace inside or outside a building, connecting multiple rooms and serving as a passageway.
Balustrade | In architecture, the lower part of a building between the ground and the first row of windows or columns.
Basilica | In Roman architecture, a building for civil purposes (especially a courthouse) with a rectangular plan, typically overlooking the forum. Colonnades usually divide it into several corridors (naves). By extension, any building that repeats its architectural features.
Bas-relief | A stone sculpture technique that involves carving the outlines of figures, the interior of which is then hollowed out and made deeper than the external surface; no element, however, is ever completely detached from the background.
Bastion | System of fortified escarpment walls.
White lead | ‘Lead white’. A white, usually paste-like coloring substance.
Bifora | A window with two openings, divided by a small pillar or column.
Sketch | A small-scale model of a painting or sculpture, sometimes approximate.
Broletto | Originally, the Palazzo dei Consoli in Milan was built on a broletto (small square); by extension, the term used to refer to the town hall in Lombardy.
Ashlar | A type of wall covering usually used to decorate the base of buildings. Made of ashlars (stones protruding from the wall), it is distinguished by their shape and relief (rustic, smooth, etc.).
Concrete | A mixture of highly cohesive mortar (e.g., lime) with aggregates (sand, gravel fragments, or stone).
Span | The space between structural parts (such as pillars, columns, the abutments of a bridge, etc.) connected to form a uniform covering (e.g., a barrel or cross vault).
Capital | Architectural element that tops the column and connects it to the entablature or arch.
Chapel | Small religious building, independent or inserted into a larger one, often intended for worship or the commemoration of the dead.
Truss | Triangular wooden framework, often exposed, used to support the roof of a building.
Cardo maximus | Main north-south road axis, corresponding to minor parallel cardoes.
Keel | A particular type of vault or arch resembling the shape of the keel of an upturned boat.
Coffered ceilings | Polygonal or quadrangular recesses used to decorate wooden ceilings. They often feature painted or carved decorations.
Chain | Horizontal element (iron or wood) that absorbs the lateral forces exerted by construction systems such as arches, trusses, and vaults.
CEL | Acronym for Comunicazione Edilizia Libera (Free Building Communication), it indicates an optional document that can be sent to the municipality indicating any free building works currently underway.
Cella | The enclosed, quadrangular part of an ancient Greek temple, which housed the statue or image of the deity to whom the building was dedicated.
Cenotaph | A funerary monument not containing the body of the deceased.
Centering | The curved part of a vault or arch. Also known as a curved wooden structure that supports the arch or vault during construction.
Lost-wax casting | A casting technique in which the wax model melts upon contact with the bronze casting, freeing the cavity that will form the surface of a statue.
Keystone | In a cross vault, it is the ashlar inserted at the intersection of the ribs. In architecture, the term refers to the ashlar, often decorated, that forms the static center of the vault of the arch.
Composite (order) | Architectural order used by the Romans, combining and developing the Corinthian and Ionic orders. Also called the “triumphal order” because it was used in triumphal arches.
Ashlar | A large, cubic block of squared stone used as wall cladding.
Buttress | A square-section support placed at specific points in the masonry of a building for reinforcement and counter-thrust.
Counterfacade | In a building, the internal part of the wall corresponding to the façade.
Corinthian (order) | The third and most recent stylistic order of Greek temples, it spread throughout Greece starting in the 5th century BC. It takes its name from the city of Corinth. It enjoyed great success, thanks in part to the fact that, unlike the Ionic style, the Corinthian capital offered an equal view from all sides.
Cornicle | A molded architectural cornice placed at the crown of a building, often supported by corbels.
Rib | In Romanesque and Gothic architecture, a cord-shaped rib placed along the edges of vaults.
Crepidòma | A Greek temple base consisting of several steps.
Greek cross | Christian cross with arms of equal length. By extension, a church plan having this shape.
Latin cross | Christian cross with arms of unequal length, in which the shortest arm intersects the longest arm approximately one-third of the way along. By extension, a church plan having this shape.
Dome | Covering of centrally planned spaces with a usually circular base, usually hemispherical.
Cusp | A specific structure in Gothic architecture. It has the shape of an isosceles triangle and is often used to crown façades and portals.
Ambulatory | A semicircular or circular corridor in the choir or apse of churches or buildings with a central plan.
Decumanus maximus | Main street of military camps and cities, oriented east-west, which defines the network of parallel and perpendicular streets (cardines). The decumanus, like the cardine, can still be found in Roman-founded Italian cities.
Dipteral | Greek temple surrounded on all sides by a double row of columns.
Shower (or gutter) | Small stone or brick channel running along the edge of the roof to collect rainwater.
Domus | A dwelling of the Roman upper classes, derived from Etruscan houses. Closed to the outside, it consists of a tablinum, triclinium, peristilium, impluvium, vestibulum, atrium, cubicula, and exedra.
Doric | The oldest Greek stylistic order, it takes its name from the Indo-European Dorians. Its characteristics were definitively established in the 7th century BC:
a sharp-edged fluting on the column;
a capital divided into an abacus and an echinus;
a frieze composed of metopes and triglyphs.
The columns rest on the stylobate. It developed primarily in the Greek colonies of southern Italy.
Exedra | A room intended for conversation in a Roman domus. Also an open semicircular architectural space, with columns or a portico.
Facade | The front exterior of a building, usually where the main entrance is located.
Forum | The most important square in a Roman city, the center of public life, often surrounded by monumental civil and religious buildings.
Frieze | In a classical temple, a horizontal element below the roofline, between the architrave and the cornice, usually intended to house relief decorations.
Frontispiece | In architecture, the upper part of a door or building.
Gallery | Covered passageway or corridor.
Spire | An ornamental element in the shape of a very elongated pyramid or cone, typical of Gothic architecture.
Iconostasis | In architecture, a structure of Byzantine origin common in early Christian churches. It divides the presbytery and the central nave and is usually composed of a marble transenna supported by columns supporting an entablature, above which are placed several statues.
Impluvium | In the Roman domus, a basin for collecting rainwater, usually lowered from the floor, in the center of a courtyard. Initially the hub of domestic life, it increasingly became a ceremonial area.
Imposta | Section of the arch resting on the piers.
Intercolumniation | Space between two columns.
Recess | Interior space of an architectural structure or building.
Ionic (order) | Architectural order of Greek temples, shortly after the Doric. Definitively established in the 7th century BC, it features columns with fluted cut edges, capitals decorated with lateral volutes, and a continuous frieze.
Hypogeum | In ancient architecture, a funerary building carved into the rock and intended for burial. It defines a space generally buried underground.
Hypostyle | A building supported by columns. Also referred to as a space filled with columns.
Lantern | Architectural element in the shape of a shrine placed atop a dome or lantern.
Brick | A terracotta building material. By extension, brick.
Binder | A substance that, when mixed with water and inert materials (sand, gravel), forms a mass that, once hardened, achieves high strength. Concrete and mortar are used as binders.
Pilaster strip | An architectural element with a primarily decorative function, consisting of a semi-pillar or semi-column with limited relief inserted into a wall. It can be decorated with carving or relief and sometimes support an entablature.
Loculus | A small space used to place the body of the deceased, dug into the ground or a wall.
Loggia | An architectural element consisting of a portico with a balustrade. It is often open, freestanding, or part of a monumental building.
Diamond | A decorative motif, painted or sculpted in relief, rhomboid in shape, with alternating acute and obtuse angles. A possible decoration used in flooring.
Lunette | In architecture, the portion of a wall bounded at the top by an arch, including a pointed arch. By extension, a sculpture or painting executed on a support of the same shape.
Majolica | A variety of ceramic originating from the island of Mallorca, characterized by a glazed coating. By extension, any type of colored ceramic with an opaque glaze and a glass covering.
String course | In architecture, a prominently raised external frame, placed horizontally to emphasize the division of a building into floors.
Mausoleum | Originally, a funerary monument erected for King Mausolus of Caria, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. By extension, a large funerary monument.
Member | A set of fundamental architectural elements.
Corbel | An architectural element that projects slightly from the wall and serves to support beams or cornices.
Molding | A continuous, projecting architectural element of various shapes; it contributes to animating and characterizing the appearance of a building.
Module | In architecture, a conventional unit of measurement used to establish criteria of proportionality.
Single-lancet window | A window with a single opening.
Mullion | A vertical architectural support element.
Narthex | A portico supported by pillars or columns, located in front of the façade of ancient palaces and later Christian churches.
Nave | An internal corridor of a Roman, and later Christian, basilica, delimited by rows of pillars or columns, or by these and the perimeter wall.
Ribbing | A cord-shaped architectural element in Gothic and Romanesque buildings, designed to receive and distribute the thrust and counter-thrust of the structure onto the supporting columns.
Niche | A recess created within the cross-section of a wall.
Obelisk | A monolithic commemorative pillar typical of Egyptian art, with an extremely elongated pyramidal shape, generally resting on a stepped square base.
Oculus | A small round or oval window, often used purely for decorative purposes.
Stilt house | A Neolithic dwelling built for defensive purposes on piles driven into the edges of lakes or marshes, found primarily in northern Italy.
Stage | Part of the theater where the performance takes place.
Pilaster | A pillar set into the wall that, unlike the pilaster strip, serves a load-bearing, not decorative, purpose.
Pendentive | An architectural element connecting the circular base of the dome and the underlying building (with a polygonal or quadrangular plan).
Peripteral | A classical temple surrounded on four sides by columns equidistant from each other and from the exterior wall.
Peristyle | In a Roman domus, a large internal garden surrounded by a colonnade.
Plan | A horizontal graphic representation of a building.
Pedestal | Structure used to support a statue, column, or obelisk.
Pier | Vertical extension of the arch from the impost.
Pillar | Architectural element supporting vaults, arches, and architraves. Usually quadrangular in plan.
Plan | Geometric design representing the horizontal section of a building or urban complex.
Platea | In architecture, the foundation level of a building.
Plinth | Terminal part of the column, generally cubic or parallelepiped, resting on the stylobate.
Podium | Raised base of a building.
Lancet window | Window with multiple openings separated by pilasters or columns.
Portal | Monumental entrance to a building.
Load-bearing | Architectural structure that supports a thrust or weight.
Portico | Gallery with columns, vaulted or flat ceiling, usually located outside a building.
Presbytery | The area of a Christian church surrounding the high altar reserved for the clergy and typically separated from the central nave by a balustrade.
Propylaea | In classical architecture, the monumental and generally porticoed entrance of honor that provides access to a temple, palace, or urban area.
Elevation | Scale architectural drawing of the exterior of a building or, by extension, the façade of a building.
Quadrifora | A window with four openings separated by pilasters or small columns.
Quadriportico | A portico extending along all four sides of an open space. It predates the façade of many early Christian basilicas, to house the faithful awaiting baptism (catechumens).
Roughcast | The first coat of mortar applied to a wall before fresco painting.
Rose window | A circular window at the center of the façade of Romanesque and Gothic churches, usually made of painted glass and adorned with rays and a frame.
Semi-column | A semi-cylindrical section of a column, cut into sections and placed against a wall. It serves as a decorative element, but can also absorb lateral thrust from the building.
Sepulchral | Relating to a tomb as a repository or monument for the deceased. Sepulchral Monument: commemorative work
Splay | Sloping wall surface surrounding windows and doorways.
Pitched | Sloping roof pitch covered with tiles or stone.
Stadium | Classical building used for sporting events, generally composed of two parallel straight lines divided by a spine and joined at one end by a semicircle surrounded by stands.
Jamb | Lateral support for a door or window opening.
Stucco | Material made from lime and plaster, painted or gilded, which solidifies slowly and is easily molded. It is often used for interior decoration.
Drum | Circular or polygonal architectural structure connecting the roof of a building (usually the dome) to the underlying structure.
Theater | Building of Hellenic origin used for performances. Typically composed of a semicircular terraced area (cavea) for the audience, a circular space (orchestra) for the chorus and dancers, a stage (or proscenium) for the actors, and a fixed architectural backdrop.
Thermae | A complex of buildings for public baths typical of the Roman world. During the Imperial Age, it assumed monumental proportions, incorporating spaces for various public activities (libraries, gymnasiums, gardens, etc.). The functional core consists of a succession of three bathing areas, divided according to the temperature of the water:
calidarium (for hot water);
tepidarium (for warm water);
frigidarium (for cold water).
Terracotta | Clay worked by hand and then fired in the sun or in kilns.
Terrace | An open and enclosed part of a building.
Lantern | A parallelepiped-shaped architectural structure that covers centrally planned spaces and sometimes encloses a dome. Often covered by a gabled roof and open to windows.
Tympanum | The upper part of the façade of a Greek (from Archaic times onwards), Etruscan, and Roman temple, triangular in shape and framed. It often features reliefs.
Tower | A tall building.
Entablature | The set of horizontal elements above columns, piers, or pilasters. In the classical orders, it consists of an architrave, frieze, and cornice.
Transenna | In architecture, a perforated stone slab used to separate reserved spaces inside or outside buildings.
Transept | A transverse nave intersecting the longitudinal aisles, usually of equal height to the central nave. It may also have multiple naves.
Tuff | A volcanic stone found primarily in central and southern Italy, used by the Etruscans and Romans for architectural works.
Tuscanic (order) | Architectural order of Etruscan origin, later also used in Rome (e.g., in the Flavian Amphitheater). Characterized by smooth columns, Doric-like capitals, and a flattened echinus.
All-round | Sculpture completely free on all sides, except the supporting side.
Sail | A vault in the shape of a spherical triangle resting on a square-plan building. A segment of a cross vault.
Stained glass | A collection of glass tiles (of varying sizes and colors) held together by a lead framework.
Vault | Vaults are structural typologies typical of Roman architecture. They are classified as:
simple, if characterized by a single surface, spherical or cylindrical;
compound, if derived from the combination of two or more simple vaults.
They can be further subdivided into:
Barrel vault. A vault used to cover a square or rectangular space, supported by two opposing, load-bearing walls. In Roman architecture, vaults are predominantly round (i.e., created by the translation of a semicircle).
Cross vault. A vault formed by the intersection of two barrel vaults. Its weight rests on four corner supports (for example, columns or pillars).
Pavilion vault. A vault rising from a square base. Like the cross vault, it is obtained by the intersection of two barrel vaults, but it covers spaces delimited by continuous walls and, therefore, does not have perimeter arches. Each independent curved surface is called a pitch or a spire. If the plan is rectangular, the cylindrical vault with its axis parallel to the longest sides is intersected by two perpendicular cylindrical surfaces and is called a vault with pavilion heads.
Base | An architectural element that serves as the base of a supporting structure. It can also refer to the protruding part of a wall at the base of a building.
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