You've probably seen cupolas, but you may not have known what they were called, until now. If you have ever taken a drive in the Midwest, past an old church, public office or barn, you may have spotted cupolas on the top of those buildings. The cupolas are those dome or rectangular shaped areas that stick up from the top of the building.

While they look attractive, sometimes made of copper or painted to complement the rest of the building, cupolas also served an important purpose for the buildings in days of yore, as a source of ventilation. This is the original reason cupolas were created. If you think about your high school physics class, you will remember that heat rises. But, if you have a closed roof in a barn or the church, that rising heat ends up stuck in the building because it has no way to get out. Eventually more heat builds up in the building and before you know it the whole place is a sweatbox. In times before air conditioning, this simple physics fact made conditions very uncomfortable, almost unbearable for people in the church and public buildings, as well as for the livestock in the barns. That's when someone came up with the bright idea to let that hot air out. But the key was how to accomplish this goal. Just cutting a couple of slats in the roof was not a good solution. Although it would let the heat out, it would also let rain and the elements in.

The cupolas as we know them today started being put on these buildings as a way to alleviate the heat, but instead of just settling for an additional topper to the building, it was realized they could also be attractive and craftsmen began to make them out of decorative metals, or take care in the paint job done on them, to complement the rest of the building, and even add ornate weathervanes to the top to add to their attractive qualities.

Today, we have air conditioning, so you may think there is no need for anyone to have cupolas anymore. This may be the case. You really don't need a vent in the top of your house if you have an air conditioner going, it may let some of that cold air out. But just because you don't need the practical side of an item, doesn't mean you can't want it for its beauty.

The creators of cupolas realized this and began creating cupolas of metal, wood, stone and even vinyl that do not serve their traditional purpose. These cupolas have no slats or vents. Instead, they are solid pieces that can be put atop your home, public building or church to be an attractive addition to the structure. They will also make your building look a little taller and more distinguished compared to those around it. Many of the modern cupolas even come with an attachment ready for you to add an ornate weathervane.