Life is in the Details, and These are my Favorite Details

Today I'd like to write about one of my favorite things ever, and something I don't write enough about on Liber Lexica: architecture. I really like buildings (the older the better) and all their myriad details. I think that often, the best part of a building is its details (unless its a Cold-War era Communist structure, in which case it doesn't have details). So today, I'm going to make a short list of some of my favorite details. Before I start, its best to keep in mind that most of my favorite details are medieval, so if you're having a hard time imagining what I'm talking about, keep that in mind (or ignore my ramblings entirely, that's cool too).

• Arches. I really do like arches. There are so many types and ways to go about doing arches. I like dramatic Gothic arches, wicked-cool Islamic horseshoe-shaped arches, even just plain rounded arches. I like arches that hold up buildings just as much as I like completely pointless decorative arches (okay, they're not pointless because their point is to be decorative, but whatever). Something about an arch just adds panache to a building. Plus, there usually isn't just one arch gracing a structure, usually you get a bonus of at least a couple together- even better!

 Arches into a courtyard at the Alhambra Palace, Spain.

 Lots of Double Arches at the Cordoba Mosque, also Spain.

• My next great architectural joy is the window. Now, you might think, "every building has windows, that's silly." However, not every building how windows. In fact, many really nice building don't have windows. Ancient Greek and Roman temples, for instance, did not have windows. I'm sure they could build windows, but they chose for whatever reason (perhaps cult secrecy and exclusion?) not to build them. I'm particularly fond of stained-glass windows (like Medieval rose-windows- just pretty colors, no pictures) and those colonial multi-pane windows. (Maybe it's the unbelievably charming shutters that get me?)

Old City Philadelphia

Cathedral at Autun, France

• Since good things come in threes, I'll let this be the last point for today. The final big-name architectural element that brings joy to my heart is the column. There are more different types of columns than there are arches (windows, however, definitely win the numbers game). Columns are great though because they are just as splendid as ruins as they are when they're new. You have your funny-looking Minoan columns (which are generally wooden, and fatter at the top than the bottom), your imposing Egyptian columns with bas-reliefs, your sturdy and self-assured Greek and Roman columns, and everything else. Don't even get me started on column capitals (oh boy, do I love those too).

 Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens, Greece.

 Egyptian Columns...from somewhere in Egypt.