Three experts weigh in on the architectural style that defined Europe for centuries and continues to inspire buildings today ...

Flying buttresses act the same way ancient Roman columns did, countering the horizontal force of the arch. They also provide for more ground area underneath: more worshippers could fit into a church ...

Gothic cathedrals represent medieval ... Each cathedral was a product of innovation, where Eastern-inspired pointed arches joined forces with revolutionary ribbed vaults and gravity-defying ...