Early modern domes built in the 16th century relied primarily on empirical techniques and oral traditions rather than the architectural treatises of the time. The use oflantern towers, or timburios, which hid dome profiles on the exterior declined in Italy as the use of windoweddrums beneath domes increased, which introduced new structural difficulties.

Multi-story spires with truncated bulbouscupolas supporting smaller cupolas or crowns were used at the top of important 16th-century spires, beginning in the Netherlands. In the early sixteenth century, the lantern of the Italian dome had spread north and this structure gradually adopted the bulbous cupola from the Netherlands. The fully developed onion dome was prominent in Prague by the middle of the sixteenth century and appeared widely on royal residences. Russian architecture strongly influenced the many bulbous domes of the wooden churches of Bohemia and Silesia. Bulbous domes in Bavarian rural architecture less resemble Dutch models than Russian ones, due to influence through Bohemia and Silesia.

The Gothic ribbed vault was displaced with a combination of dome and barrel vaults in theRenaissance style throughout the 16th century, beginning with the areas of Italy within Florence's sphere of influence and with Bramante's 1505–6 projects for a wholly newSt. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The spread of domes in this style outside of Italy began with central Europe, although there was often a stylistic delay of a century or two. Use of the oval dome spread quickly through Italy, Spain, France, and central Europe and would become characteristic ofCounter-Reformation architecture in theBaroque style.

A more somber style was implemented following the reforms of the Council of Trent. The extradosed domes ofEl Escorial became a model for subsequent Spanish domes.Only a few examples of domed churches from the 16th century survive from theSpanish colonization of Mexico. Surviving examples are typically on a Latin cross plan with a brick dome on a drum at the crossing. Early domes were commonly hemispherical and low, springing from the level of the roofline, rather than using an intervening drum.

A combination of barrel vaults, pendentives, drum, and dome developed as the characteristic structural forms of large Renaissance churches following a period of innovation in the later fifteenth century.^[1] Florence was the first Italian city to develop the new style, followed by Rome, and then Venice.^[2] Domes in the Renaissance style in Florence are mostly from the early period, in the fifteenth century. Cities within Florence's zone of influence, such asGenoa,Milan, andTurin, mainly produced examples later, from the sixteenth century on.^[3]

The construction of domes in the sixteenth century relied primarily on empirical techniques and oral traditions rather than the architectural treatises of the times, which avoided practical details. This was adequate for domes up to medium size, with diameters in the range of 12 to 20 meters. Materials were considered homogeneous and rigid, with compression taken into account and elasticity ignored. The weight of materials and the size of the dome were the key references. Lateral tensions in a dome were counteracted with horizontal rings of iron, stone, or wood incorporated into the structure.^[4] Other techniques used to reduce lateral thrust were to add abuttress at the base, a counterweight above theabutment, or to give the vault a steeper profile. Architects followed authoritative opinions, especially those of ancient authors, and the evidence from ancient and contemporary buildings.^[5] The structural behavior of previous domed buildings acted as full-scale models to inform new ones and smallscale models of new projects were also relied upon.^[6]

Dome design prior to the seventeenth century relied upon geometrical and proportional construction rules established by the experiences of prior centuries. Principles based onmaterial strengths, the theory ofelasticity, andlimit analysis had not yet been formulated.^[7] Traditional geometric rules of proportion for domes were applied bymaster builders regardless of size, but helped new domes be built in forms known to be safe.^[6] Sizing of domes was determined geometrically through ratios of the diameter to other aspects, such as thickness, lantern size, and drum size, until it was replaced by analytical calculations at the end of the seventeenth century.^[8]

Onion-shaped domes appeared widely on royal residences in the middle of the sixteenth century. In addition to those on the eastern part ofPrague Castle, royal residences in Madrid, London, Vienna, and Kraków had them, always as part of Italian classical forms.^[9]

The first rotating observatory dome was built in the sixteenth century, inKassel.^[10]

Toward the end of the sixteenth century, transepts with domes were popular in several Italian states and were featured in prominent churches such as theAbbey of Santa Giustina inPadua (begun in 1532),Mantua Cathedral (added after 1540),Church of the Gesù in Rome (1568–1580), andSan Giorgio Maggiore in Venice (begun in 1566).^[11] The domes of the Abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua may have been inspired by those ofil Santo.^[12] Between the late sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries, the use of iron chains was considered critical in achieving structural equilibrium for dome construction in the area around Rome, with rare exceptions. Other contemporary architects, such as those in Florence, argued that dome stability should instead be ensured by the use of correct proportions and good construction.^[13]

In the sixteenth century, many Renaissance and Baroque elliptical and oval plan domes were built over rectangular naves, using brick in Italy and stone in Spain. Later German oval domes in the Rococo style used different combinations of geometry.Elliptical dome traces were published byDurero (1525),Serlio (1545), andDe L'Orme (1561) along with practical methods of achieving the shape using circular arcs, the technique used from the time of the ancient Romans.^[14] The publication ofSebastiano Serlio's treatise, one of the most popular architectural treatises ever published, was responsible for the spread of the oval in late Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Book I (1545), on geometry, included techniques to create ovals, and Book V (1547), on architecture, included a design for an oval church.^[15] Churches with oval plans begin to be built in the middle of the sixteenth century. Churches with oval domes allowed for a synthesis of the two fundamental church types, longitudinal and central plan, and would become characteristic ofBaroque architecture and theCounter-Reformation.^[16]Alonso de Vandelvira [es] published a description of the geometry of oval domes around 1580 with orthogonal projections of meridian and parallel rib curves. Oval domes often incorporated both elliptical and oval or semicircular curves and this ambiguity is reflected in the architectural literature. Builders relied on graphical or empirical solutions to such geometric problems.^[17]

The Tempietto in Rome, a small domed building modelled on theTemple of Vesta, was built in 1502 byBramante in the cloister ofSan Pietro in Montorio to commemorate the site ofSt. Peter's martyrdom. It has inspired numerous copies and adaptations since, includingRadcliffe Camera, the mausoleum atCastle Howard, and the domes ofSt. Peter's Basilica,St Paul's Cathedral, thePanthéon, and theU.S. Capitol.^[18]

Bramante's 1505–6 projects for a wholly newSt. Peter's Basilica mark the beginning of the displacement of the Gothic ribbed vault with the combination of dome and barrel vault, which proceeded throughout the sixteenth century.^[19] Bramante's studies for new church designs for St. Peter's coincided withLeonardo da Vinci's studies of centrally planned churches while they were both at the court ofLudovico Sforza in Milan and they may have collaborated. Their studies may have influenced many of the centrally planned churches built in the first half of the sixteenth century, such asthe church of Santa Maria della Consolazione (started around 1508) andthe church of the Madonna di San Biagio at Montepulciano (1518–1545).^[20] Bramante's cross-domed design for thechurch of St. Celso in Rome served as a model for theChurch of St. Maria della Fortezze inViterbo, begun in 1514.^[21] Although Bramante designed a low dome like that of the Pantheon for the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione inTodi, a building ordered by the ruling Atti family to mark the site of a 1508 miracle, the design changed in 1587 to a dome and drum on pendentives.^[22]

Raphael's dome in theChigi Chapel (1516) at the basilica ofSanta Maria del Popolo use stucco relief moldings to frame eight picture panels surrounding a central circular image. The eight panels depict angels and figures representing the planets. The central panel depicts an illusionistic Pantocrator mosaic, with a perspective intended to be seen from the entrance arch.^[23]

In 1520,Antonio da Correggio painted the oval crossing dome ofSan Giovanni Evangelista inParma, using an illusionistic style that depicts a central Christ, but in a scene of the second coming, rather than as Pantocrator. The low lighting required the painting to use a "fresco technique with a far stronger tonal range than is normal for the medium."^[24] In 1526 he painted the octagonal crossing dome ofParma Cathedral with an illusionistic depiction of theassumption of Mary, with plaster filling in the angles of the octagonal vault to create a smooth surface. The image is meant to be viewed at or near the base of the steps to thechancel.^[25]

The church ofSanta Maria di Loreto in Rome (1507-1585) has a dome in two shells. The inner shell was built by Antonio Sangallo with the rest of the church, but the outer shell was added later by Giacomo del Duca and finished in 1577. A false lantern was added above this second shell in 1585.^[26]

TheSanctuary of Our Lady of Mongiovino [it] (begun 1513) byRocco da Vicenza [it] was a cross-domed church that followed the Venetian model.^[27]Alessio Tramello helped develop a Lombard variant of the cross-domed plan in which the cross arms extend past the otherwise square plan with his church ofSanta Maria di Campagna inPiacenza (1522–1528).^[21]

The first church with an oval dome in the Renaissance period was theSant'Andrea in Via Flaminia, built from 1550 to 1554 byVignola. Use of the oval dome subsequently spread quickly through Italy, Spain, France, and central Europe.^[28] The church ofSant'Anna dei Palafrenieri (c. 1568–1575), designed by Vignola and completed by his son Giacinto Barozzi, was the first church to have an oval dome over an oval plan.^[29]

Many Italian examples of oval domes have semi-circular cross sections, which allowed for easier construction using semi-circular transversecentering. Vignola's oval plan church ofSant'Anna dei Palafrenieri was the first to be built within Rome, and was designed in 1572 with seven windows between the eight ribs in its oval dome. The windows introduced structural complications that Vignola had avoided in his first oval dome over the rectangular plan church ofSant'Andrea in Via Flaminia, but the restrictions of the site necessitated light from above. The oval plan church ofSan Giacomo degli Incurabili was started in 1592 by a student of Vignola's, Francesco Capriani, and finished byCarlo Maderno. It also has ribs between the six windows in its dome, but they are concealed on the interior. The design of this church would inspire others over the next two centuries, aided by the building activity of the many newreligious orders founded between 1524 and 1621.^[30]

Bramante's initial design for the rebuilding ofSt. Peter's Basilica was a Greek cross plan with a large central hemispherical dome and four smaller domes around it in aquincunx pattern. Work began in 1506 and continued under a succession of builders over the next 120 years.^[31] Bramante's project for St. Peter's marks the beginning of the displacement of the Gothic ribbed vault with the combination of dome and barrel vault.^[1] Although basilicas with domed crossings were common in Italy at this time, they were not common in the city of Rome, which followed theConstantinian basilica model.^[32] Bramante is said to have likened his design to placing thePantheon on top of theBasilica of Constantine.^[33] Proposed inspirations for Bramante's plan have ranged from some sketches ofLeonardo da Vinci to the Byzantine quincunx church and the dome of Milan'sBasilica of San Lorenzo.^[34] Bramante sketched San Lorenzo during his time as court architect in Milan and his design for St. Peters includes elements from San Lorenzo, such as the apse structure, central dome modeled on the Pantheon, and corner towers.^[35] The triangular sections of the piers of the crossing dome imitate those supporting the dome of Florence Cathedral.^[36] He expanded the crossing bay beneath the dome into an octagonal shape.^[32] The four massive central piers and the arches linking them were completed by 1512, but cracking in the arches was detected between 1514 and 1534, possibly due to settling. The two eastern piers rest on solidmarl and clay, while the other two rest upon remains of earlier Roman construction.^[37] That the piers and arches were left to stand with incompletebuttressing while construction stopped for over 30 years was also a factor.^[38] The plan for St. Peters was a model forBaldassare Peruzzi when planningCarpi Cathedral (begun 1515).^[21]

Michelangelo inherited the project to design the dome of St. Peter's basilica in 1546. It had previously been in the hands of Bramante (withGiuliano da Sangallo andFra Giovanni Giocondo) until 1514,Raphael Sanzio (assisted by Giuliano da Sangallo and Fra Giovanni Giocondo) until 1520, andAntonio da Sangallo the Younger (withBaldassare Peruzzi), whose work was disrupted by thesack of Rome in 1527.^[39] The dome design had been altered by Giuliano da Sangallo from being hemispherical to being 9 meters taller, segmental, and ribbed, and he had strengthened the piers and completed building the pendentives.

Michelangelo redesigned the dome to have two shells, a mostly brick internal structure, and three iron chains to resist outward pressure.^[40] His dome was a lower, hemispherical design.^[39] He further strengthened the piers by eliminating niches in them and the internal spiral staircase.^[41]Michelangelo obtained a decree fromPope Julius III that threatened aninterdiction against anyone who altered his design, completed construction of the base for the drum by May 1558, and spent November 1558 to December 1561 creating a detailed wooden model. Construction of the drum was completed a few months after he died in 1564. Sixteen pairs of columns project out between sixteen windows in the drum to act as buttresses, and are aligned with the sixteen ribs of the dome and the paired columns of the lantern.^[42] The drum and buttresses were built of stone with rubble infill and four internal spiral staircases were included.^[43] An artist and sculptor, rather than an engineer, Michelangelo did not create full engineering plans for the dome and his model lacked construction details.^[44] The dome of St. Peter's Basilica was later built byGiacomo della Porta andDomenico Fontana.^[31]

Pope Sixtus V appointedGiacomo della Porta andDomenico Fontana in 1588 to begin construction of the dome to Michelangelo's model. They made modifications to his design estimated to have reduced the tensile stresses in the dome by 40%, including thinning the two shells near the top, reducing the thickness and exterior projection of the ribs, raising thespringing line by 4.8 meters, and changing the shape of the dome.^[45] Giacomo della Porta insisted on a vertically elliptical profile for the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, for structural reasons, and construction began in June 1588.^[46] Unlike the dome of Florence Cathedral,centring was used during construction. The dome was built with brick and two wrought ironeyebar chains were incorporated into the lower part of it during construction.^[43] The dome was completed up to the base of the lantern in May 1590, a few months before the death of Pope Sixtus V. The lantern and lead covering for the dome were completed later, with the brass orb and cross being raised in 1592.^[46]

The lantern is 17 meters high and the dome is 136.57 meters from the base to the top of the cross.^[47] Theogival dome was built with 16 ribs and an inner diameter of 42.7 meters. It begins above the drum andattico (the decorative strip above the drum), which are about 18 meters tall.^[48] The two brick shells of the dome are each about 1.19 meters thick at the base. Because the shells separate from each other as they rise, the dome is 2.7 meters thick overall. The sixteen ribs connect the two shells together and are made of stone.^[44]

Carlo Maderno's extended nave for St. Peter's Basilica, built between 1609 and 1614, included bays covered by oval domes with lanterns.^[49]

Cracks in the crossing dome were noticed as early as 1603, when the mosaics covering the dome interior were completed, and additional cracks were recorded after 1631 and in 1742, demonstrating progression.^[50] A 1730 earthquake had spurred closer monitoring of the cracks and the responsible architect,Luigi Vanvitelli, recommended strengthening measures in his 1742 report.^[43]Pope Benedict XIV commissioned an independent report from three leading mathematicians from the University of Rome (François Jacquier,Thomas Le Seur [fr], andRoger Joseph Boscovich), who reported in January 1743 with recommendations to add chains at the base and cornice of the drum, at the springing level of the dome, mid-way up the dome, and at the base of the lantern.^[51] The mathematicians also recommended adding pedestals on top of the drum buttresses.^[52] Benedict published the report and commissioned additional reviews, including byGiovanni Poleni of the University of Padua, who used physical models to test the forces at work and ultimately recommended adding all the chains except the one at the base of the lantern. This recommendation was accepted, although a fifth chain at the base of the lantern was added in response to lightning damage and a sixth chain was added to replace the higher of the two original chains, which was found to be broken.^[53] The tie rings were added around the dome in 1743–44 by Vanvitelli.^[54] The iron chains included in the design to contain the dome's lateral thrust have had to be replaced ten times since it was constructed.^[55]Giovanni Poleni's 1748 report on the state of the dome anticipated thesafe theorem by stating "explicitly that the stability of a structure can be established unequivocally if it can be shown that the thrust line lies completely within the masonry."^[56] His observation of cracks in the outer shell by the ribs has more recently been attributed by computer models to the heavy lantern.^[57]

TheMedici Chapel in Florence was designed byMichelangelo and built between 1521 and 1534.^[39]

In 1569, the dome over the church ofMadonna dell'Umiltà inPistoia was completed byGiorgio Vasari at the behest ofCosimo I de' Medici, over a building designed and built by others. Although clearly referencingFlorence Cathedral visually and in the use of two shells, structurally the octagonal dome is similar to the much earlier dome ofFlorence Baptistery and the hemispherical shape of Michelangelo's design for the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Cracks discovered shortly after completion necessitated the addition by Vasari of iron chains on the inside and outside, but structural problems have continued and additional chains have been added over the centuries, many outside of the dome. The instability has been attributed to Vasari's design.^[58] The dome is unique in having its tie-rods visible and "free to vibrate" on the dome's exterior, allowing the stress on the tie-rods to be measured through the frequencies of the vibrations.^[59]

Vasari was brought on to build the dome in the mid-1500s and changed the original dome profile from a pointed arch to a hemispherical design, which had larger horizontal thrusts, but the supporting drum was relatively high and weak and no supporting encirclement was used during the dome's construction. The lantern is also relatively heavy: it is 1/8th of the weight of the entire dome, compared to the lantern of Florence Cathedral being 1/25th.^[60] Vasari urgently ordered the first iron ring before the dome was finished, then a second immediately after the first was installed in 1575 (or 1570-1572^[59]).^[61] An additionaltie rod ring was placed in 1585, two more in 1592 (one of which was substituted in 1840–1846 after being broken by lightning), one in 1617 after debris fell from cracks in the dome, and two in 1920/1966 after the earthquake of 1917, for a total of seven external rings and one internal ring.^[59] The cost of the Renaissance-era tie rods may have been in the sameorder of magnitude as the cost of the dome itself.^[61]

Enrico Bruno,Pope Julius II's secretary and treasurer, hada domed parish church [it] built in his hometown ofRoccaverano between 1509 and 1516 that was evidently based on a design byBramante for thechurch of St. Celso in Rome.^[62]

The cross-domed eastern end of theChurch of San Nicolò [it] inCarpi (1493–1514) has disputed attribution but may have been designed byBiagio Rossetti.^[63]

Correggio painted the illusionisticFall of the Giants in the early 1530s at thePalazzo del Te nearMantua. The corners of the square room and domical vault were filled with plaster to create a smooth uninterrupted surface for the painting, which continues from the dome to the supporting walls.^[64]

TheChurch of San Benedetto [it] inFerrara (1496–1563) has a cross-domed design on its eastern end byBiagio Rossetti.^[63]

The slender crossing piers ofGenoa Cathedral had already been completed whenGaleazzo Alessi was awarded the commission to build the crossing dome. That may explain why the dome was a relatively light design, with a single shell and large windows in the thin drum.^[65]

The dome of the church ofSanta Maria Assunta inGenoa was built by Alessi in the middle of the 1500s, about eight years after the dome of Genoa Cathedral. It has a quincunx plan with five domes, with a central two-shell ogival dome on a drum. The 14-meter-wide central dome uses metal tie-rods, masonry rings at the base and top, and buttresses between the shells, but has extensive cracking in both shells that extend to the drum.^[66]

In the fifteenth century, pilgrimages to and flourishing trade relations with theNear East had exposed theLow Countries of northwest Europe to the use of bulbous domes in the architecture of theOrient and they were adopted in the architecture of theNetherlands. InGhent, an octagonal staircase tower for the Church of St. Martin d'Ackerghem, built in the beginning of the sixteenth century, had a bulbous cupola similar to a Syrian minaret. These cupolas were made of wood covered with copper, as were the examples over turrets and towers in the Netherlands at the end of the fifteenth century, many of which have been lost. The earliest example from the Netherlands that has survived is the bulbous cupola built in 1511 over thetown hall of Middelburg. Multi-story spires with truncated bulbous cupolas supporting smaller cupolas or crowns became popular in the following decades.^[67] The onion shape was used at the top of important sixteenth-century spires such as theOnze Lieve Vrouw Kerk in Haarlem, the 1566Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, and the 1599cheese market of Alkmaar.^[68]

Russian architecture strongly influenced the many bulbous domes of the wooden churches ofBohemia andSilesia, such as the1506 wooden church tower [pl] inPniów and thechurch of St. Anna in Czarnowancz [pl].^[69] In the early sixteenth century, thelantern of the Italian dome had spread north as a wood and copper cupola called in Germany thewelsche Haube ("Italian hood") and this structure gradually adopted the bulbous cupola from the Netherlands.^[70]

Tower finials were replaced by curvilinear domes with openwork lanterns inWrocÿaw and other Silesian cities around 1530, which may have been in reference to the crusader-era bell tower of theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, before it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1545.^[71] One of the earliest domes in Silesia was the 1531 domed tower-likebelvedere on the roof of thehouse of Heinrich Rybisch [pl] in Wrocÿaw.^[72] The Gothic finial on the tower ofSt. Elizabeth's Church in Wrocÿaw was damaged by a storm in 1529 and replaced by a dome on an octagonal drum ringed by semicircular gables in 1534.^[73]

The town halls ofJawor (1537),Lubaÿ (1544), andŸwidnica may have had domed finials. A parish church inJelenia Góra from 1552 seems to have had a multi-story tower with domes and openwork. The 1554 tower gate ofBrzeg Castle included a superstructure of stacked domes and lanterns.^[74] Another example was on the town hall ofBrzeg,Silesia (1570–76).^[70]

InPrague, thewelsche Haube was apparently little used, but the fully developed onion dome was prominent by the middle of the sixteenth century. The development of the onion shape in Prague architecture may have been an effort to blendGothic forms with those from Italy, and may also indicate influence from the Netherlands. Drawings published in carpentry manuals and the prestigious association of onion spires withpilgrimage churches encouraged their adoption in the nearby regions ofBavaria,Southern Germany and theAustrian Empire.^[75] Drawings of the city of Prague from 1562 and 1606 show towers andspires capped with onion domes. They are seen on theRosenberg Palace, theold town water tower [cs], and the main spire ofSt. Vitus Cathedral (1561–1563), the design of which had been approved byEmperor Ferdinand in 1560.^[76][77]

The 1520church tower in Giessen [de] had a pointed dome surrounded by gables, one of the earliest of the type documented. Domed finials with surrounding gables are documented inFrankfurt Cathedral (1514) andSt James' Church inLübeck. Additional examples are in the tower domes ofSt. Jacob's Church in Sangerhausen [de] (1514–1542), theMarktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen (1551), andWetzlar Cathedral (1561).^[78]

Bulbous domes in Bavarian rural architecture less resemble Dutch models than Russian ones, due to influence throughBohemia andSilesia. The polygonal domes on the towers of theFrauenkirche in Munich from about 1530 are examples.^[79] The dome ofPerlachturm (1519) has similar influences.^[80]

A château in Dresden with a tower dome from 1535 was remodeled from 1547 to 1557 to have a series of bell-shaped domes, according to a wooden model.^[9]

A bulbous dome ofDutch character was on the tower of the town hall ofEmden (1574–76) and other examples were on the town halls ofRothenburg ob der Tauber (1572–78) andLemgo (c. 1589).^[70]

The dome ofSan Sisto inPiacenza (1499–1514) is circular and includes pendentives with circular medallions.^[81]Alessio Tramello added the five-domed Chapel of the Virgin Mary to the western transept between 1505 and 1513, possibly inspired by the chapel atSanta Maria presso San Satiro.^[21]

Milan, between 1550 and 1650, initiated construction of domes for many important churches. Domes in theLombard region were traditionally hidden externally bylantern towers called timburios, a technique dating fromlate Antiquity whose structural behavior was well known, but this began to change starting in the 1560s. Domes exposed externally, or "extradoxed", were proposed by architectPellegrino Tibaldi for the church ofchurch of San Fedele (1568–69), thechurch of San Sebastiano (1578–86), and theSanctuary of Caravaggio [it] (1571). However, the planned extradoxed dome of San Sebastiano had a timburio added and many domes continued to be planned with timburios from the outset. Examples include the Trivulzio chapel in the church ofSan Nazaro in Brolo (1547), and the churches ofSanta Maria delle Grazie,Santa Maria presso San Celso (started in 1497),Santa Maria della Passione (1549–1550), andSan Vittore al Corpo (1568–1573). The use of drums beneath domes began in Milan following the trend in Rome and central Italy. They improved lighting for domes but also introduced additional structural problems.^[82] The dome ofSan Vittore al Corpo, like that of Santa Maria Assunta in Genoa, was designed by Galeazzo Alessi as a circular plan dome with double pilasters on the drum but, unlike the Genoa dome, it uses a timburio to cover the outer surface and help restrain thrust.^[83]

The dome of theCathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza (after 1500) is a late example of the Gothic "double-chevet" style.^[84] The cathedral, built from 1316 to 1520, includes two types of crossed-arch dome.^[85] Crossed-arch domes were built over the Capilla de la Purificacion inTarazona Cathedral (16th century) and in thecimborrio ofTeruel Cathedral.^[86]

InNaples, the domes of theCaracciolo di Vico chapel (c. 1516) and the church ofSanta Caterina a Formiello (c. 1519) were built before a more somber style was implemented following the reforms of theCouncil of Trent.^[87] The dome of Santa Caterina a Formiello, considered to be the first to be built in the capital of the SpanishViceroyalty that used theTuscan Renaissance style, was finished in 1577. It is about 11 meters in diameter, made of brick and yellowtuff in a single shell, pointed in profile, and has cladding inPiperno stone and grey tuff. The twin pilasters on the drum exterior correspond to ribs in the dome. The heavy original lantern made from Piperno stone was replaced with one made from lighter materials after an earthquake in 1688.^[88] Subsequent domes in the 16th century in Naples include those of the monastic complexes ofSanta Maria del Popolo,Santi Severino e Sossio,Santa Maria Donnaromita,San Gregorio Armeno,Santa Maria della Mercede a Montecalvario,Santa Maria Regina Coeli, andSanta Maria La Nova.^[89] The domes of Santa Maria Donnaromita and San Gregorio Armeno were built about 30 years apart, but are covered with similar colored tiles. Simple domes in Naples without lanterns, or with small lanterns, and with undecorated white surfaces, would later be covered withBaroque painting and sculpture that obscured their original plainness.^[90]

In southern Italy, theChurch of Santo Stefano in Molfetta [hu] was built with a dome and an adjacent 12-sided pavilion vault over its two rooms sometime between 1530 and 1590. The Church of Santa Maria di Porta Santa inAndria, from the middle of the 16th century, similarly has two adjacent bays covered by octagonal cross vaults on pendentives. The dome of theChurch of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Campi Salentina [it] was reduced in diameter by a series oflunettes at the base.^[91]

The influence of the dome at El Escorial is evident in the dome at the church ofReal Colegio Seminario del Corpus Christi inValencia, which was altered to include a drum between 1595 and 1597.^[92]

InSicily in the second or third decade of the sixteenth century, Giovan VincenzoTagliavia [it] commissioned a domed funerary chapel behind the apse of theChurch of Santa Maria del Gesù [it] inCastelvetrano, and such domed chapels, although not necessarily funerary, would become a distinctive feature of churches in western Sicily. A large number of domed chapels were built betweenPalermo andErice.^[93] Domed chapels include the Confrati chapel inSanta Maria de Betlem (1520s) in Modica and the Naselli chapel in theChurch of San Francesco all'Immacolata in Comiso [it] (1520s^[94] or 1549-1555^[95]).^[94] The first known hall structure ending in a domed chapel was the Madonna chapel in the church of theMadonna of Trapani, built around 1530, with the domed chapel modeled after the Basilicò chapel in Palermo's church ofSanta Maria dello Spasimo.^[96]

Domed churches in Sicily include theChurch of Sant'Antonio Abate in Palermo (1536)^[97] and the Church of San Francesco inCalatafimi, completed in 1556.^[98] InMazara del Vallo after 1550, theChurch of Carmine [it] and theformer Church of Sant'Egidio [it] were built with sixteen-sided domes next to their apses, above squinches with a shellmotif.^[99] Between roughly 1540 and 1570 on the southern side of the island, domes were built that rested on shallow arches or lintels instead of corner niches. Examples include the Chapel of the Confrati, integrated into the church of Santa Maria de Betlem in the second half of the 16th century, the church of Sant'Antonio inScicli, the church of San Francesco in Comiso (1549–1555), and thechurch of Sant'Antonio in Militello (1560–1574).^[100] The church ofSanta Maria dei Miracoli included an octagonal vault built by 1580, supported on four slender columns.^[101] Other churches with domes include theChurch of San Sebastiano in Palermo [it],Abbey of San Martino delle Scale (1593),San Giorgio dei Genovesi in Palermo, and theChurch of the Gesù in Palermo.^[102] The dome of the Church of the Gesù was completed in 1567 but has collapsed and been rebuilt several times. The fifth version of the dome followed its destruction inWorld War II and was made of reinforced concrete with a significantly different appearance than before the war. The brick tambour was covered with stone on the outside and stucco on the inside. The double-shelled dome was covered with stucco on the inside andmajolica on the outside.^[103]

Barrel vaults and domes were introduced into the gothic church style of the island ofSardinia in the second half of the 16th century by engineers working for theSpanish Crown and theSociety of Jesus. Examples include the hemispherical dome on pendentives of theCathedral of Sassari (1530s), the hemispherical dome on squinches of theChurch of Saint Agostino in Cagliari [it] (1577–1580), and the octagonal dome on pendentives of theChurch of Santa Caterina in Sassari [it] (1578–1609).^[104] A small dome over one of the side chapels in the church of Valverde in Sassari, Sardinia, may date to the 1530s or later.^[94]

The "Murcia Dome" over the Chapel of the Junterones inMurcia Cathedral, built in 1540 byJerónimo Quijano [es], has atoral geometry achieved by the revolution of a transverse semicircular arch about the oblong plan's short axis.^[105]

The crossed-arch dome in theHospital of Santa Cruz de Mendoza in Toledo was built from 1504 to 1514.^[86]

In Seville, the dome over the sacristy ofSeville Cathedral (c. 1542), the dome over theRoyal Chapel at Seville Cathedral [es] (1562–1575), and the dome of theJesuit Church of the Annunciation [es] (1565–1579) are of a type that partially or entirely emerge from a surroundingparallelepiped, or half-tiburium.^[106] The domed trellis vault ofParish of Our Lady of the Consolation in Seville, Spain [es] byHernán Ruiz is dated to the 1560s.^[107]

The domed rotundachevet chapel ofGranada Cathedral was built between 1528 and 1558, initially as an imperial mausoleum forCharles V and his family, and was inspired by theAnastasis of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This is reflected in the 22-meter (72 ft) diameter of the dome, which is within a half-meter of the width of the Anastasis dome, the windows immediately under the dome, the approximately two-to-one relationship between the heights of the rotunda and the surrounding ambulatory, and the large triumphal arch between the rotunda and the nave, which was a feature of the Anastasis after the mid-12th century.^[108]

The dome ofBurgos Cathedral (completed in 1568) is a late example in the Gothic "double-chevet" style.^[84] After the 1539 collapse of the original tower it was rebuilt byJuan de Vallejo [es] by 1573, repaired in 1644 following damage from a hurricane and fire, and repaired in the 1980s following damage from a storm. The central vault has eight arms extending from the center to the inner vertices of an eight-sided star polygon, which connects to the inner vertices of another eight-sided star polygon. The gaps between these arms are filled with an openwork grill of various carved shapes, including circles with Greek crosses andtrefoils.^[109]

In 1564, a dome on a drum was completed over the vestry of thechurch of San Miguel in Jerez de la Frontera, a rare Spanish example built before those ofEl Escorial. The domes over the church and towers of El Escorial, built between 1579 and 1582 as extradosed domes on drums, became a model for subsequent Spanish domes, particularly afterJuan de Herrera's publication of the main dome's cross-section in 1589.^[110][111] The main dome over the church is a stone spherical dome and lantern on a cylindrical drum and has an internal diameter of 18.94 meters. Smaller versions with internal diameters of 6.68 meters top the two church towers.^[112] It introduced extradosed stone domes on drums to the architecture of Spain, translating the Italian Renaissance style vaults from mainly brick to stone construction. The Courtyard of the Evangelists includes a domed fountain with elliptical lantern pilaster profiles.^[113]

The influence of the dome at El Escorial is evident in domes at the church of theCollege of Nosa Señora da Antiga inMonforte de Lemos (redesigned after 1592 to be extradosed and have a drum), and the church of San Pablo and San Justo inGranada (completed in 1622 with a similar drum). The similarities in the dome overCerralbo Chapel [es] atCiudad Rodrigo, which does not have a drum, include the proportions of the dome thickness, the lantern diameter, and the use ofhorizontal stone courses in the lower portion of the dome up to 32 degrees, rather than radial courses.^[92]

Alonso de Vandelvira's [es]Tratado de Arquitectura, from around 1580, is the first Spanish scientific treatise and contains the first recorded definitions of the geometry of meridian and parallel ribs for six kinds of oval domes. It is evidence of the scientific and cultural exchange occurring with Italy in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Early oval domes built in Spain in the second half of the sixteenth century include the crossing dome of thecathedral of Cordoba and the chapter house dome ofSeville Cathedral.^[114] The dome ofSan Sebastian in Alcaraz, Spain, was completed in 1592 and is said to have been designed byAndrés de Vandelvira before his death. It uses a lattice vault design with a grid of stone structural ribs. Thecaissons are filled in with lighter or smaller blocks of stone.^[115]

The influence of the dome at El Escorial is evident in the domed tower at theMonastery of Irache.^[92]

During theSpanish colonization of the Americas, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, thousands of churches were built in Mexico. The churches vary, but surviving examples from central Mexico are typically on a Latin cross plan with a brick dome on a drum at the crossing.Adobe was widely used in early examples but these buildings were often replaced or destroyed by earthquakes.^[116] Thick rib cross-vaulting in a dome-like shape was used in the 16th century. Most churches used abell-gable instead of a bell tower, although stone bell towers were often added in later centuries, typically topped by a small hemispherical dome. Vaults and domes were usually built with brick and, like towers, were particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. Domes developed vertical cracks from the lateral movement and were more vulnerable than vaults because movement in the drums beneath them could increase the damage. A large amount of movement in a single event or the cumulative effect of multiple earthquakes could result in collapse. Only a few examples from the 16th century survive.^[117] Domes were sometimes decorated withAzulejo tilework, a style inherited from the Islamic art ofAl-Andalus.^[118]

Domes were used in some of the earliest churches in Mexico and were also used in secular architecture. Early domes were commonly hemispherical and low, springing from the level of the roofline, rather than using an intervening drum. They almost always have an octagonal base and commonly have windows piercing each segment of the dome near the base, which correspond todormers on the exterior that are treated as if part of a drum. An examples is the dome of theChurch of San Hipólito inMexico City.^[119] The plaza fountain in the Mexican town ofChiapa de Corzo was built in 1586 with a brick octagonal ribbed dome withMudéjar influences.^[120] TheCathedral of Mérida inYucatán, Mexico, was the first cathedral finished on the American continent and contains a domed trellis vault with a grid of ribs byJuan Miguel de Agüero that is dated to 1598.^[107]

InLima, churches were built throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth century with stone or brick domes and vaults, even after collapses fromseismic activity, due to the concerns of fire and rot in the use of wooden structures.^[121]

Thechurch of Saint Lucius (begun 1520), now inMoncucco, was a cross-domed church that followed the Venetian model.^[27]

A large number of cross-domed churches were built in Venice in the Renaissance style between 1490 and 1530 and it became the predominant building type for the period. TheChurch of San Nicolò di Castello [it] (c. 1476–1503) was subsequently destroyed. The destroyedChurch of San Andrea della Certosa (1489–1510) had a cross-domed antechamber. The church ofSan Giovanni Grisostomo (begun in 1497) was built byMauro Codussi. The cross-domed church ofSan Geminiano (begun 1505) at thePiazza San Marco has since been destroyed.^[63] The Benedictine convent church ofSan Benedetto inBergamo byPietro Isabello [it] was a cross-domed church built from 1516 to around 1520.^[27] The cross-domed church ofSan Giovanni Elemosinario was begun in 1527. The churches ofSanta Maria Mater Domini (c. 1502–1540) andSan Felice (early 1530s) have a varied form of cross-dome plan.^[63] The church ofSan Fantin was built beginning in 1507.^[122]

The domed bell tower of the church ofMadonna dell'Orto was completed in 1503.^[123]

In Venice, there is evidentByzantine influence in the line of three domes over thenave and crossing of the church ofSan Salvador, built between 1506 and 1534 by Giorgio Pietro Spavento andTullio Lombardo.^[124] It repeats the crossed-dome unit three times, similar to the nave of St. Mark's Basilica.^[125]

The domedtower of the Palazzo del Capitano inPadua (c. 1532) may have inspired structures inSilesia, similar to the domed bell towers of theAbbey of Santa Giustina (1532) andSan Giorgio dei Greci (before 1550).^[72] The Abbey of Santa Giustina was begun in 1521 but construction did not accelerate until 1532. Its east end cross-dome system elaborated on versions used in earlier churches.^[27]

TheVilla Capra, also known as "La Rotunda", was built byAndrea Palladio from 1565 to 1569 nearVicenza. Its highly symmetrical square plan centers on a circular room covered by a dome, and it would prove highly influential on theGeorgian architects of 18th century England, architects in Russia, and architects in America,Thomas Jefferson among them.^[126] Commissioned by count and churchman Paolo Almerico, Palladio designed a dome for the residence because he believed that the Latin meaning of "domus" being "house" indicated that ancient Roman houses were domed.^[127]

Palladio's temple atVilla Barbaro inMaser was built between 1554 and 1580 (often attributed to 1560). It has a hemispherical masonry dome with a large lantern made of timber to reduce its weight. Palladio included an internal circular brickwork beam at the springing of the dome in the drum that resists horizontal movement through friction between bricks and tension within the bricks.^[128]

Palladio's two domed churches in Venice areIl Redentore (1577–92) andSan Giorgio Maggiore (1565–1610), the former built in thanksgiving for the end of a bad outbreak ofplague in the city.^[126] Also attributed to Palladio, the church ofLe Zitelle (1579–1586) has a timber dome like those of Il Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore.^[129]

In the 16th century, large five-domed cathedrals were built in Russia in imitation of theAssumption Cathedral in Moscow, such as atRostov Veliky,Khutyn Monastery,Trinity Makaryev Monastery [ru],Vologda,Danilov Monastery, andNovodevichy Convent.^[130]

The spread of the Renaissance style dome outside of Italy began with central Europe. Although there was often a stylistic delay of a century or two, Poland has a number of important examples, such as the PolishSigismund's Chapel inKraków (1517–1533).^[131] It was built byBartolommeo Berrecci and the domed chapel was imitated in the centralized domed chapels of nobles and clergymen for more than a century. An example is theMyszkowski Chapel [pl].^[132]

As elements likely associated withRoman Catholic church buildings at this time, the use of domed transepts outside Italy may indicate partiality towards Roman Catholicism overProtestantism. Examples include a church inDąbrowa Zielona (1554), aJesuit church in Nieśwież (1586–1599), and aJesuit church in Kraków.^[133] Early examples inGdańsk, such as the tower of the town hall (1561) and the tower of the church of St. Catherine (1634), show Dutch and possibly Russian influence.^[134]

In the eastern parts of the Commonwealth, Orthodox andGreek Catholic churches maintained the forms developed during the Middle Ages, such as Greek cross plans or longitudinal plans in three parts with each part covered by a dome, but with updated styling. Examples include theWalachian church of Paulo Dominici (1591–1629), theChurch of St. Onufry in Husiatyn [pl] (c. 1600), and theChapel of the Three Saints [pl] (after 1671).^[135]

Stereotomy, custom cutting of stone voussoirs to form a vault, was first used in French non-ribbed domes at theChâteau de Bournazel [fr] (1545) and thePendentif de Valence [fr] (1548); the technique would be rare in France until the seventeenth century.^[136] The dome of a chapel atChâteau d'Anet byPhilibert de l'Orme, built from 1549 to 1552 as part of renovations forKing Henry II's mistress,Diane of Poitiers, is regarded as a masterpiece of stereotomy and the architect published a theory of the technique in 1567. The dome consists of thirteen courses of stone voussoirs cut to form seven and a half courses of diamond coffers. The eighteen pairs of ribs between the coffers spiral in opposite directions to a lantern-covered oculus and shrink in size as they ascend, producing an illusion of greater height.^[137] The floor beneath the dome was also designed with a pattern corresponding to the coffers of the dome.^[138]

• History of early and simple domes
• History of modern period domes

• Domes
• Arches and vaults
• Church architecture
• Mosque architecture
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