In this article I will present a selection of roof finials adorning Neo-Romanian style houses in Bucharest. This attractive eye-catching architectural feature decorates many Neo-Romanian period buildings, being also an important value added architectural element that deserves full attention when undertaking a renovation or restoration project.
Definition: a FINIAL is the ornamental terminal feature at the top of a roof pinnacle, gable, etc. It is a conspicuous decorative element most peculiar to architectural styles that feature pointed roofs, cupolas or spires, such as the Romanesque and especially Gothic, but also Byzantine and Islamic. “Fleuron” is the French word for finial, which derives from “fleur” [French for “flower”], indicating the ornamental quintessence of this architectural feature.
Finials are highly visible artifacts marking the vertical limits of an edifice, their design, ornament and decoration encompassing in a small space the architectural spirit of that building. The Neo-Romanian style houses often feature finials, usually on the rooftop of their defining citadel-like central structure (see my previous article for a guide on the Neo-Romanian style and its features), an example being the following beautiful house that I photographed in the Cotroceni area of Bucharest.
Neo-Romanian style house with rooftop finial on central citadel-like stucture, Cotroceni area, Bucharest 2009 (©Valentin Mandache)
There are a few type categories of Neo-Romanian roof finials, with the main one inspired from the Ottoman-Islamic art, with which this style is organically linked as a result of five centuries of Ottoman influence over the Orthodox high church architecture in this part of Europe. In the examples bellow the finials have geometrical motifs, strikingly similar with the Ottoman ones.
Finial on a Neo-Romanian style hosue, Cotroceni, Bucharest 2009 (©Valentin Mandache)
