Art, Architecture and Historical Terms

Acroterion (It. acroterio): decorative protrusion atop the pediment of an Etruscan, Greek or Roman temple. At the bottom corners of the pediment such a decoration would be called an antefix.

Ambone: a pulpit, often elaborately decorated

Ambulatory (It. ambulatorio): curving aisle around the apse of a church, usually lined with chapels

Ancona: a painted or sculpted altarpiece, especially one set in an architectural frame

Atrium (It. atrio): entrance court of an ancient Roman house or an early church

Arca: a monumental tomb or sarcophagus

Badia (from abbazia): an abbey or abbey church

Baldacchino: baldachin, a columned stone canopy over an altar