Understanding Elevation and Ornamentation in Architecture

Elevation: Nestled on robust foundations (which sometimes allow the construction of underground vaults or churches), the thick wall reinforced by buttresses sustains higher buildings. The central nave is taller than the side windows, venting its weight on them and sometimes on the "stands" in such high aisles, passing the half-barrel vaults of its burden onto these pillars, buttresses, and external walls (thus anticipating the Gothic flying buttresses). These stands, with a low value sometimes useful or intended to host pilgrims, open to the nave through three ornamental windows (clerestory).
The two walls flanking the nave received special treatment by the Roman architect. He avoided the mass rotundity of the first Romanesque era and opted for management in flat horizontal arched openings for real or fictitious lateral communication with the ship, platform, or false windows, framed by columns or pillars that rise above the wall to the base of the dome. This concern for energizing the wall of the nave culminated in the so-called churches of pilgrimage. With the Gothic, major architectural themes remain.
Facades
These are often articulated as "H" between two solid towers (except for the Italian "campanile" or exempt bell tower). These ornamental facades often have different covers depending on the area: in Italy, they are organized from arcades of columns with little sculpture, while in the French area of influence, they feature high towers filled with sculpture. In general, there is a correspondence between external and internal elements.
Ornamentation
The decorative motifs are another distinguishing feature of the building. These are scattered throughout the church, primarily in the windows and capitals, considering that, generally, the walls were completely painted, producing the effect of dematerialization as seen in Byzantine art. Similarly, to mark the horizontal articulation and break up the monotony of the solid wall, friezes and cornices multiply as ornamental bands divided into parts, consisting of abstract geometric patterns (jagged, rock-breaking, checkerboard, diamond points, zigzag in blind arches, etc.); sometimes, they appear on the cornices that support outbound cargo, better displaying sculptural decoration (corbels) or rolls (cantilevers). Often, buttresses themselves, apart from their possible functionality, articulate a plastic wall.