Everyone came across in conversation with a word such as "rotunda". The meaning of this term is associated with architecture, namely with a certain type of structure. In this case, there are various species with their own differences. The meaning of the word "rotunda" and its features are described in detail in the article.
What is indicated in the dictionaries
So what is a rotunda? To answer this question, you need to turn to the explanatory dictionary, which says that this is a cylindrical structure, most often crowned with a semicircular dome. Columns with various orders (Doric, Corinthian and Ionic) are almost always located along its circumference.
Understanding what it is - a rotunda - will help acquaintance with the etymology of the word. The term comes from the Italian word rotonda, which, in turn, comes from the Latin rotundus, which means “round”. Such buildings began to be built in ancient Greece, some of them, in various conditions, have survived to the present. In the future, the style of Greek architecture was adopted in the Roman Empire.
So, for example, the shape of the rotunda is available in various buildings. These are ancient Greek monopters and thalos, the ancient Roman temple Pantheon, located in the capital of Italy, mausoleums, some Christian churches of the Renaissance, Romanesque and Classicism, as well as park gazebos and pavilions for recreation.
In the architecture of Ancient Russia
As mentioned earlier, the rotunda is the form of construction that appeared in ancient Greece, however, the remains of such a building with a diameter of 18 m were discovered in Smolensk.The building was called the Church of Our Lady of Germany, the estimated time of its construction dates back to 12-13 centuries. It is known that it was built by a special order of merchants from Germany who lived in Smolensk.
Temples that had the described form were built mainly on the territory of Southern Russia - in Galich, Kiev, Lviv, Przemysl and Vladimir-Volynsky. It should be said that in some places the foundations and ruins of the rotunda churches in Chernihivtsi, Stolpie and Uzhgorod remained.
At the beginning of the 14th century, architects from Italy were often invited to Moscow to build churches. It is known that, like the cathedral of Vysokopetrovsky monastery (16th century), which has survived to the present, Italians erected other cloisters and temples that had the shape of a rotunda.
Architecture of 18-20 centuries
Continuing to consider the definition of "rotunda", we should talk about the architecture that spread after the 18th century. In St. Petersburg, the Trinity Church, built at the end of the 18th century, has been preserved. It has a classic rotunda shape with a round dome and columns around the building itself. Currently, the church is in excellent condition and is operational.
It should be said that many architects liked this architectural form of construction, so they designed their buildings, focusing on it. So, for example, in Moscow this form has the ground pavilions of several metro stations - Riga, Culture Park, Alekseevskaya and others.
In many cities of Russia there are architectural monuments - rotundas located in parks, squares and other places of recreation. In Voronezh, there is a monument that tells about the horrors of the Great Patriotic War - these are the remains of the bombed lobby of the regional children's hospital.
Other values
Answering the question of what this rotunda is, it is necessary to tell about other meanings of this term. This is not only an architectural structure, but also the name of a commune in Italy, located in the region with the poetic name of Basilicata. It has an area of 42 km 2 , and about 4 thousand people live on its territory. The municipality is located among beautiful mountain landscapes, annually attracting a large number of tourists here.
In the state of Florida, located in the United States, is the Rotunda West. This is the so-called statistically isolated locality (administrative unit). Its total area is about 30 km 2 , and the number of inhabitants is more than 7 thousand people.
Finishing to study what it is - a rotunda, you need to pay attention to the dance that bore this name. It was distributed in the Middle Ages in the territory of modern Europe and was a round dance of men and women performing simple dance.
The name "rotunda" is an unusual women's cloak-cloak, which received it thanks to a semicircular shape. As you can see, this term has several meanings, but the most common is architectural. Rotunda buildings delight in their beauty, despite the fact that this form was invented several thousand years ago.