Tiburio
A Tiburio ( Italian ) is a self-supporting component of the church architecture. It corresponds roughly to a crossing tower , but also appears in churches without a transept .
The term comes from the medieval Latin. tiburium , possibly an alteration of the term ciborium , i.e. an artfully decorated superstructure resting on columns and decorated with figures above an altar in the form of a canopy ( ciborium ).
The Tiburio encloses or surrounds a dome arch of the interior from the outside in order to protect it. However, its function goes beyond a mere sheathing or covering. Rather, it is a structurally independent structure that is not supported on the dome.
In plan it can be round, polygonal or square; as a structure cylindrical , cubic or prismatic . The Tiburio is usually covered with a sloping roof and crowned with a lantern .
The tiburio has its origin in the early Christian and Byzantine architecture and is used from the Romanesque to the Renaissance. This type of dome superstructure is most widespread in the Lombard Romanesque period and the 19th and early 20th century church buildings inspired by it. Its development probably goes back to the attempt to make the urban appearance of a church independent of the size of the dome. In contrast to, for example, Roman church construction, where the dome is of great structural and architectural importance, the construction of a Tiburio makes a greater distinction between external and internal effects. The Tiburio makes it possible to give the church an effective urban structure above the crossing even if the respective arching techniques or other framework conditions, such as the proportions of the interior, require a smaller dome. Another reason for using the Tiburio could be the variation in the dome construction itself. In many cases, these were constructed with two shells, also in order to be able to treat external and internal effects differently. By pushing both shells apart in order to obtain additional exposure options if necessary, the Tiburio could also have taken on constructive tasks in mediating between the two shells.
Based on the French term Tour-lanterne , the Tiburio can also mean a tower-like crossing structure that expands the air space in the area of this tower and thus only closes the room with the ceiling of the tower.
Examples
- Chiaravalle Milanese Monastery , Milan
- Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza , Rome
- Santa Maria delle Grazie , Milan
- Santa Maria presso San Celso, Milan
- Sant'Ambrogio , Milan
- Albertis SS. Annunziata, Florence
- San Vitale , Ravenna
- Santo Spirito in Sassia , Rome
- Santa Costanza , Rome.
literature
Toman, Rolf (ed.): The art of the Italian Renaissance. Architecture, sculpture, painting, drawing. Potsdam 2007, p. 450 (keyword 'crossing').