The story behind the Mandaloun 

The Mandaloun is an element of the 
traditional architecture of Lebanon and the region that first appeared in the 17th-century

Prince Fakhreddine II brought it with him all the way from Italy

How did Fakhreddine bring it from
 Italy ?

In 1608, prince Fakhreddine II of 
Lebanon concluded a secret economic 
and military alliance with the Grand Duke
 of Tuscany against the Ottoman hegemony

Alarmed, the Ottomans dispatched the Muhafiz of Damascus to mount an attack on Lebanon
 in order to reduce Fakhreddine's
 growing power

Fakhreddine chose to seek exile in Italy from 1613 until 1618 where he was hosted by 
Cosimo II de' Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany and stayed in the Palazzo Pitti 

He was exposed to Florentine 
architecture particularly the
 "Biforas" that garnered the facades of the Florentine Renaissance palaces

Friedrich Ragette, an author of a book on Lebanese architecture, indicates an
Italian origin to the naming and links 
the term to the Italian Mandolino, a 
musical instrument in the lute family

F.Ragette inferred that the Mandaloun's 
disposition and location was 
favorable to the instrument player, 
thus the naming

References [Wikipedia - Wikimedia - F. Ragette]