facciata

facade

noun faht-CHAH-tah Rare

Also means

front face

Usage Note

Facciata refers to the front exterior face of a building, but it also carries a figurative sense — 'a mere facciata' means keeping up appearances while concealing the truth inside, much like English 'facade'. The plural is regular: facciate. It derives from faccia (face), making its meaning transparent once you know that root.

Examples

"La facciata del duomo è bellissima."

Natural Translation

The cathedral facade is beautiful.

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