architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, 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). Many lantern towers are usually octagonal, and give an extra dimension to the decorated interior of the dome. An affiliated term is the Italian , which is the

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

atop a dome. Like a lantern tower, a is often polygonal and interspersed with windows both to lighten the load and allow for light to shine. The word is from the

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

(, a variant of ).

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File:Peterborough lantern tower.JPG, Interior,

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Church of England, Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Sain ...

, UK File:Sutton Church - geograph.org.uk - 378802.jpg, St Andrew's Church,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, UK File:StEtienne tour lanterne.jpg, Interior, Saint-Étienne's Church,

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Towers Church architecture

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