Italian Gothic Timber Roof

A timber roof truss is a structural framework of timbers designed to bridge the space above a room and to provide support for a roof trusses usually occur at regular intervals linked by longitudinal timbers such as purlins the space between each truss is known as a bay.

Italian gothic timber roof.

1294 1442 one of the largest churches in europe was designed by arnolfo di cambio and contains numerous monuments to celebrated italians. Emphatic eaves supported by corbels low pitched roofs barely discernible from the ground or even flat roofs with a wide projection. It had to be able to resist rain snow and high winds of the english climate and to preserve the integrity of the structure. Example of italian gothic architecture verdon 1994.

Hence it is called the westminster abbey of florence. It is a gothic version of a basilican church with widely spaced columns and open timber roof. A tower is often incorporated hinting at the italian belvedere or even campanile tower. The town s famous gray and white basalt and travertine cathedral with an exposed timber roof dominates the surrounding countryside.

Plain groined vaults of small span were common and divided into compartments s by flat bands a practice which was continued into the gothic period. The nave roofs of italian churches continued to be constructed of wood with flat ceilings till the thirteenth century. Pastexperience inthe use ofthe gothic roof has shown the difficultyinbuildinga roof of thistype insuch a way thatitwillwithstand the loads imposed upon itwithout sag ging. Rafters have a tendency to flatten under gravity thrusting outwards on the walls.

It is distinctive by its pronounced exaggeration of many italian renaissance characteristics. Cross section of the dome of st. The building is 84 70 m high and 14 45 m wide with a square base richly covered with white red and green. When the cornerstone was laid in 1290 the old building began to acquire a new appearance blending byzantine and northern elements into a prime example of italian gothic style.

The pitched gothic timber roof was a distinctive feature pof the style both in religious and domestic architecture. A pitched roof was a common feature of all the gothic periods. Nevertheless itispossible tomake a curved rafterto conformlauch more closelyto the ideal shape whichwillcarry the dead loadswithout producinga bendingmoment in the rafter.