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Domes built in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries relied primarily on empirical techniques and oral traditions rather than the architectural treatises of the time, but the study of dome structures changed radically due to developments in mathematics and the study ofstatics. Analytical approaches were developed and the ideal shape for a dome was debated, but these approaches were often considered too theoretical to be used in construction.

The Gothic ribbed vault was displaced with a combination of dome and barrel vaults in theRenaissance style throughout the sixteenth century. 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. 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.

Multi-story spires with truncated bulbouscupolas supporting smaller cupolas or crowns were used at the top of important sixteenth-century spires, beginning in the Netherlands. TraditionalOrthodox church domes were used in hundreds of Orthodox andUniate wooden churches in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and Tatar wooden mosques in Poland were domed central plan structures with adjacent minarets. The fully developed onion dome was prominent in Prague by the middle of the sixteenth century and appeared widely on royal residences. Bulbous domes became popular in central and southern Germany and in Austria in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and influenced those in Poland and Eastern Europe in the Baroque period. However, many bulbous domes in the larger cities of eastern Europe were replaced during the second half of the eighteenth century in favor of hemispherical or stilted cupolas in the French or Italian styles.

Only a few examples of domed churches from the 16th century survive from theSpanish colonization of Mexico. An anti-seismic technique for building calledquincha was adapted from local Peruvian practice for domes and became universally adopted along the Peruvian coast. A similar lightweight technique was used in eastern Sicily after earthquakes struck in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Although never very popular in domestic settings, domes were used in a number of 18th century homes built in theNeoclassical style. In the United States, small cupolas were used to distinguish public buildings from private residences. After a domed design was chosen for thenational capitol, several states added prominent domes to their assembly buildings.

The construction of domes in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.^[3] 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

The first rotating observatory dome was built in the sixteenth century, inKassel.^[7]

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).^[8] The domes of the Abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua may have been inspired by those ofil Santo.^[9] 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.^[10]

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13]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. In 1640, mathematicianPaul Guldin established that the "elongated semicircle" of traditional practice is an ellipse.^[14]

A treatise byVincenzo Scamozzi from 1615 gives examples of a typology of vaults and domes, but not a general and thorough theory.^[15] A two volume treatise byFray Lorenzo, published in 1639 and 1665, recommended against the use of heavy and expensive stone for domes in favor of a hybrid system of brick shells covered by timber shells, as structurally independent elements.^[16] He complimented the use of wooden domes over chapels in Spain, made to look like stone on the outside, as safe and strong.^[17]

Although some recommendations for the profile of a dome can be found in treatises from earlier centuries, the traditional geometric and proportional techniques for masonry domes andlanterns were first detailed in 1694 byCarlo Fontana in his famous treatiseIl Tempio Vaticano e sua Origine.^[18] Fontana explains the proportions of a dome based on the dome's internal diameter, including the thickness and height of the drum, the internal diameter of the oculus, and the height of the piers. The thickness of the dome at its base is recommended to be three-fourths of the drum's thickness, with the dome's intrados and extrados following different circular curves to become thinner toward the top.^[19] The treatise by Guarino Guarini, published posthumously in 1737, included the way to draw various vaults, but not how to build them.^[15] Building on Fontana's work,Bernardo Antonio Vittone publishedIstruzioni elementari dell’architettura civile in 1760, in which he recommended usingogival orellipsoidal profiles to increase the proportional height of domes and increasing the angle at which they intersected with their lanterns, for both structural and aesthetic reasons. To counter the negative impact this raised profile has on the interior appearance, domes with two or three layers of vaults were built, with openings in the lower levels to admit light.^[18]

There was no single proportional rule for the sizing of the pillar supports beneath a dome in the second half of the seventeenth century and a wide variety of proportions were used, based on previously completed work. This contributed to a shift away from proportional rules to a culture of testing from the late seventeenth and into the eighteenth century. Mathematician and astronomerPhilippe de La Hire created rules of pillar proportion with a mechanical hypothesis for the sizing ofimposts in his 1695Traité de mecanique. Dutch physicistPieter van Musschenbroek performed experiments on the resistance of metal ropes, which were praised byGiovanni Poleni.^[20]

Over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, developments in mathematics and the study ofstatics led to a more precise formalization of the ideas of the traditional constructive practices of arches and vaults, and there was a diffusion of studies on what was considered the most stable form for these structures: thecatenary curve.^[13]Robert Hooke published a Latinanagram in 1675, deciphered only after his death, indicating that the perfect shape for an arch to resist a givenload was the inversion of the shape a flexible cord assumes under such a load, but he was unable to define this catenary curve mathematically. He had proposed to theRoyal Society in 1671 that the perfect dome shape was the cubico-parabolical conoid.^[21] In 1704,James Bernoulli wrote that an inverted catenary arch of any thickness will resist its own weight, which likely inspiredPierre Bouguer to conclude in hisMémoire sur le lignes courbes qui sont propres à former les voûtes en dômes (1734) that the optimal dome shape was a rotated inverted semi-catenary.^[22] Giovanni Poleni, tasked by the Pope in 1743 to study the stability of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, built scale models to demonstrate that a catenary curve can be found to fit between the two shells of the dome and published drawings in 1748, "the very first example of conscious and documented use of catenary in Architecture".^[23]

Analytical approaches were also being developed and debated in the eighteenth century, particularly between French and Italian mathematicians and architects, but were considered too theoretical to be used in construction.^[18] The study of dome structures changed radically, with domes being considered as a composition of smaller elements, each subject to mathematical and mechanical laws and easier to analyze individually, rather than being considered as whole units unto themselves.^[13] In 1734, mathematicianPierre Bouguer (and later others) argued that the dome could be thought of as sliced into a series of independent wedged-shaped segments meeting as arches. Therefore, a dome as a whole was stable if each constituent arch was stable and analysis of a dome could be performed the same way as analysis of an arch.^[24] He published hisMémoire in 1736, "the first treatise on the theory of the dome", with possible stable forms for domes when ignoring friction.A. F. Frézier built on this work and used a method of analyzing the thrust of domes as made of a series of masonry arch elements that could then be compared to the known thrust behavior of barrel vaults of the same span.^[25] The arch-slices approach was applied in 1743 by the three mathematicians hired to advise on the stability of the cracking dome ofSt. Peter's Basilica:François Jacquier,Thomas Le Seur [fr], andRoger Joseph Boscovich. It would subsequently become the standard approach to dome analysis.^[26] Their use of a simplified mathematical model of the dome's structure to calculate the strength an additional chain would need to ensure the safety of the dome was an unprecedented step, although they did not provide enough detail of the calculations or the assumptions of their model for their result to be independently verified.^[27] A 1773 study byCharles-Augustin de Coulomb focused on the verification of static equilibrium in masonry structures and took friction into account.^[28]

In the late eighteenth century, the ideal shape for a dome was debated byCharles Bossut,Lorenzo Mascheroni,Giuseppe Venturoli [it], andLeonardo Salimbeni [it], among others.^[22] The approach of Bossut (1776), Salimbeni (1787), and Bérard (1810) combined the frictionless model of Bouguer with the arch-slicing technique of Frézier in purely mathematical research that was never applied to the design of actual domes.^[29]

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.^[30] Florence was the first Italian city to develop the new style, followed by Rome, and then Venice.^[31] 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.^[32]

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.^[33]

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.^[34] 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).^[35] 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.^[36] 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.^[37]

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.^[38]

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."^[39] 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.^[40]

TheSanctuary of Our Lady of Mongiovino [it] (begun 1513) byRocco da Vicenza [it] was a cross-domed church that followed the Venetian model.^[41]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).^[36]

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.^[42] 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.^[43]

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.^[44]

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.^[45] 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.^[30] 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.^[46] Bramante is said to have likened his design to placing thePantheon on top of theBasilica of Constantine.^[47] 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.^[48] 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.^[49] The triangular sections of the piers of the crossing dome imitate those supporting the dome of Florence Cathedral.^[50] He expanded the crossing bay beneath the dome into an octagonal shape.^[46] 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.^[51] That the piers and arches were left to stand with incompletebuttressing while construction stopped for over 30 years was also a factor.^[52] The plan for St. Peters was a model forBaldassare Peruzzi when planningCarpi Cathedral (begun 1515).^[36]

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.^[53] 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.^[54] His dome was a lower, hemispherical design.^[53] He further strengthened the piers by eliminating niches in them and the internal spiral staircase.^[55]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.^[56] The drum and buttresses were built of stone with rubble infill and four internal spiral staircases were included.^[57] An artist and sculptor, rather than an engineer, Michelangelo did not create full engineering plans for the dome and his model lacked construction details.^[58] The dome of St. Peter's Basilica was later built byGiacomo della Porta andDomenico Fontana.^[45]

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.^[59] 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.^[60] 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.^[57] 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.^[60]

The lantern is 17 meters high and the dome is 136.57 meters from the base to the top of the cross.^[61] 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.^[62] 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.^[58]

Carlo Maderno's extended nave for St. Peter's Basilica, built between 1609 and 1614, included bays covered by oval domes with lanterns.^[63]

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.^[64] A 1730 earthquake had spurred closer monitoring of the cracks and the responsible architect,Luigi Vanvitelli, recommended strengthening measures in his 1742 report.^[57]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.^[65] The mathematicians also recommended adding pedestals on top of the drum buttresses.^[66] 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.^[67] The tie rings were added around the dome in 1743-44 by Vanvitelli.^[68] 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.^[69]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."^[70] His observation of cracks in the outer shell by the ribs has more recently been attributed by computer models to the heavy lantern.^[71]

TheMedici Chapel in Florence was designed byMichelangelo and built between 1521 and 1534.^[53]

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.^[72] 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.^[73]

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.^[74] 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^[73]).^[75] 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.^[73] The cost of the Renaissance-era tie rods may have been in the sameorder of magnitude as the cost of the dome itself.^[75]

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.^[76]

The cross-domed eastern end of theChurch of San Nicolò [it] inCarpi (1493-1514) has disputed attribution but may have been designed byBiagio Rossetti.^[77]

Correggio painted the illusionisticFall of the Giants in the early 1530's 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.^[78]

TheChurch of San Benedetto [it] inFerrara (1496-1563) has a cross-domed design on its eastern end byBiagio Rossetti.^[77]

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.^[79]

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.^[80]

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.^[81] 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.^[82]

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].^[83] 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.^[84]

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.^[85] One of the earliest domes in Silesia was the 1531 domed tower-likebelvedere on the roof of thehouse of Heinrich Rybisch [pl] in Wrocÿaw.^[86] 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.^[87]

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.^[88] Another example was on the town hall ofBrzeg,Silesia (1570–76).^[84]

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.^[89] 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.^[90][91]

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).^[92]

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.^[93] The dome ofPerlachturm (1519) has similar influences.^[94]

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.^[6]

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).^[84]

The dome ofSan Sisto inPiacenza (1499–1514) is circular and includes pendentives with circular medallions.^[95]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.^[36]

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.^[96] 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.^[97]

The dome of theCathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza (after 1500) is a late example of the Gothic "double-chevet" style.^[98] The cathedral, built from 1316 to 1520, includes two types of crossed-arch dome.^[99] Crossed-arch domes were built over the Capilla de la Purificacion inTarazona Cathedral (16th century) and in thecimborrio ofTeruel Cathedral.^[100]

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.^[101] 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.^[102] 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.^[103] 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.^[104]

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 1530-1590. 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.^[105]

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.^[106]

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.^[107] 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^[108] or 1549-1555^[109]).^[108] 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.^[110]

Domed churches in Sicily include theChurch of Sant'Antonio Abate in Palermo (1536)^[111] and the Church of San Francesco inCalatafimi, completed in 1556.^[112] 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.^[113] 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).^[114] The church ofSanta Maria dei Miracoli included an octagonal vault built by 1580, supported on four slender columns.^[115] 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.^[116] 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.^[117]

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).^[118] A small dome over one of the side chapels in the church of Valverde in Sassari, Sardinia, may date to the 1530s or later.^[108]

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.^[119]

The crossed-arch dome in theHospital of Santa Cruz de Mendoza in Toledo was built from 1504-1514.^[100]

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.^[120] The domed trellis vault ofParish of Our Lady of the Consolation in Seville, Spain [es] byHernán Ruiz is dated to the 1560s.^[121]

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.^[122]

The dome ofBurgos Cathedral (completed in 1568) is a late example in the Gothic "double-chevet" style.^[98] 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.^[123]

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.^[124][125] 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.^[126] 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.^[127]

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.^[106]

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.^[128] 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.^[129]

The influence of the dome at El Escorial is evident in the domed tower at theMonastery of Irache.^[106]

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.^[130] 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.^[131] Domes were sometimes decorated withAzulejo tilework, a style inherited from the Islamic art ofAl-Andalus.^[132]

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.^[133] The plaza fountain in the Mexican town ofChiapa de Corzo was built in 1586 with a brick octagonal ribbed dome withMudéjar influences.^[134] 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.^[121]

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.^[135]

Thechurch of Saint Lucius (begun 1520), now inMoncucco, was a cross-domed church that followed the Venetian model.^[41]

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.^[77] The Benedictine convent church ofSan Benedetto inBergamo byPietro Isabello [it] was a cross-domed church built from 1516 to around 1520.^[41] 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.^[77] The church ofSan Fantin was built beginning in 1507.^[136]

The domed bell tower of the church ofMadonna dell'Orto was completed in 1503.^[137]

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.^[138] It repeats the crossed-dome unit three times, similar to the nave of St. Mark's Basilica.^[139]

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).^[86] 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.^[41]

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.^[140] 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.^[141]

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.^[142]

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.^[140] Also attributed to Palladio, the church ofLe Zitelle (1579-1586) has a timber dome like those of Il Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore.^[143]

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.^[144]

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).^[145] 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].^[146]

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.^[147] 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.^[148]

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).^[149]

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.^[150] 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.^[151] The floor beneath the dome was also designed with a pattern corresponding to the coffers of the dome.^[152]

The 1609 dome over the presbytery of the church of El Carmen inSan Cristóbal de las Casas is in theboveda esquifada style ofmudéjar art.^[153]

TheCollege of Nosa Señora da Antiga (1593-1616) was built a few years after El Escorial and influenced by it. The recorded plans for the dome differ from what was actually built by master masonSimón de Monasterio. Although the plans describe the use of iron chains and iron cramps, no evidence of their actual use has been identified. Its extradosed, hemispherical, single-shell dome spans 10 meters and is made entirely of granite. There are eight windows in the drum and eight pairs of ribs in the dome. On the exterior, the lower part of the drum is octagonal and the upper part is cylindrical. The lantern and cupola are topped by a pyramidal finial.^[154]

The inner brick shell of the dome ofSan Juan de la Penitencia in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) [es] collapsed in 1999 after the collapse of the outer wooden roof.^[155]

The tower over the bridge of Pinos-Puenta was rebuilt in the 17th century with a shallow crossed-arch dome.^[99]

In Spain, oval churches of the seventeenth century include theConvent of Las Bernardas in Alcalá de Henares [es], begun in 1617, and theOratory of San Filippo Neri in Cádiz at the end of the century.^[156] ArchitectPedro Sánchez [es] built oval domes over his churches ofSaint Hermenegildo [es] in 1616 andSan Antonio de los Alemanes in 1624.^[119]

The dome of theChurch of las Calatravas (1670-1678) in Madrid was built byLorenzo de San Nicolás.

In Spain, false vaults made of wood or reed and covered with plaster were used in the seventeenth century. The technique, dating from the medieval period, was applied to chapel domes to give the appearance of stone construction.^[17] The dome of Seville'sChurch of Santa María de las Nieves [es] (begun 1659) usedstucco to create high-relief scrolling foliage patterns like those of Islamicarabesque ornament.^[155]

InLima, the "City of Kings", capital of Spain'sViceroyalty of Peru, frequent earthquakes prompted the use ofquincha construction for the vaulting of thechurch of San Francisco (1657–74) by Constantino de Vasconcelos and Manuel de Escobar. Quincha was an adaptation of an indigenouswattle and daub technique and consisted of a wooden structural framework filled out with cane or bamboo and covered with plaster and stucco to resemble stone. The anti-seismic properties of this light and elastic system allowed the 36.9-foot-wide (11.2 m) double-shell dome of the church, a hemisphere and lantern resting directly on pendentives, to survive for more than three hundred years and it became universally adopted along the Peruvian coast. Another 17th century example is the dome of thechurch of Santo Domingo in Lima (1678–81).^[157]

The first dome built inQuito was the high dome over the crossing of theChurch of Our Lady of Guápulo [es] (1650-1684), a pilgrimage church made popular by a statue of the Virgin Mary that has miracles attributed to it. The statue, made to imitate that ofOur Lady of Guadalupe in Extremadura, was destroyed in a fire in the 1830s.^[158]

Earthquakes inNaples in 1627, 1688, and 1694 spurred the addition of domes to many churches as part of repairs and restorations in the 17th century. A 1999 survey identified 121 domes in the city, 42 of which were built in theBaroque era. Most are single shell extradosed domes on a circular plan. The domes were built of tuff ashlar voussoirs with mortared joints,Vesuvian stone fitted without mortar, or ribbed concrete domes. It was customary in the 17th and 18th centuries to cover the domes with polychromemajolica tilework influenced by Arabic art, such as on the dome ofSanta Maria della Sanità, or with a copper and lead coating as on the dome of theChurch of the Girolamini.^[159]

The two-shell dome of theRoyal Chapel of the Treasure of St. Januarius (1608-1618) in Naples was built with a stone lantern that was replaced after an earthquake in 1688. Iron chains were incorporated into the structure, with the first placed during construction in 1612. Two more chains were added after earthquakes in 1626 and 1627. Further cracking spurred the removal in 1724 of the internal masonry lantern connecting the inner and outer domes, in order to lighten the structure, and the addition of a wooden and irontruss structure between the shells. The oculus in the inner dome was closed and a lighter wooden structure replaced the exterior lantern between 1724 and 1726.^[160]

The dome ofAnnunziata Church in Capua may have benefited from skills learned in the building of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.^[161]

Giuseppe Nuvolo built the church ofSan Carlo all'Arena around 1626 in Naples, the first of several oval plan churches that would be built there until the middle of the eighteenth century.^[162]

In Sardinia, theChurch of San Michele in Alghero [it] was built from the second decade to the second half of the 17th century and includes a dome on an octagonal drum.^[163] The choir ofOristano Cathedral was covered by a ribbed dome on ribbed trumpet arches (1622).^[164]

TheBasilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados (1652-1667) inValencia featured a simple oval pointed dome over its trapezoidal space when first built, spanning a space 19 meters by 15 meters. A thin inner dome was added around 1700 as a surface for a fresco, a practice not uncommon in 16th and 17th century Spain. Using a technique dating back to at least the 12th century, the inner dome was made with tile laid flat in two layers totaling just 80 millimeters. The upper half of this inner dome was supported during construction with 126 wrought iron t-shaped bars connecting the inner and outer domes, but upon completion of the inner dome, the iron bars were made structurally redundant.^[165]

A lightweight dome made with a wooden frame, woven reeds, and plastered with agypsum mortar was built overMessina Cathedral inSicily in 1682. Known to react better than masonry vaulting to earthquakes, this technique was also more expensive due to the need for specialized artisans and the use ofwhite poplar wood in the structure, which unlike traditional wooden formwork could not be re-used and was rare on the island. It was used in eastern Sicily after earthquakes struck in 1693 and 1727.^[166]

The church ofSantissimo Salvatore in Palermo was built from 1682 with an elliptical dome over a dodecagon plan. It had a long span of 24 meters and was built with 29 rows offreestone. It was damaged in World War II and rebuilt with rings of reinforced concrete over rows of dressed stone.^[167]

In Milan, proposals for the dome ofSan Lorenzo (built in 1619) included versions both with and without timburios, although, along with thequincunx planChurch of Sant'Alessandro, the building had the more difficult supporting structure of four main arches between four free-standing pillars. A dome for Sant'Alessandro was built in 1626 and demolished in 1627, perhaps due to the use of an inadequate number of iron ties. Although the dome had a timburio, it may also have had a lower and less stable hemispherical form.^[168] Autographed drawings from the period indicate it was a ribbed hemispherical dome with a lantern and timburio. Deep cracks in the arches supporting the dome caused the completed dome to be demolished, along with the supporting arches in February 1627. In 1629, the supporting piers were enlarged and the four round arches were strengthened with iron reinforcement and by adding pointed arches above them. An outbreak of disease stopped work in 1630 and the dome was not completed until 1693, with an extrados shape.^[169]

Saint Peter's Abbey inGhent was rebuilt in 1629, having been destroyed in theProtestant uprising that began in the Netherlands in 1568, a part of theEighty Years' War. The church was rebuilt in an Italian Baroque style with one of the first church domes in theSouthern Netherlands, just after the completion of the domedBasilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel, and seems to have been intended to convey a counter-reformation message.^[170]

TheNew Cathedral of Coimbra (begun in 1598) used the same half-tiburium buttressing for its dome as had earlier Spanish churches in Seville and Sassari.^[171]

German and Austrian influence resulted in many bulbous cupolas in Poland and Eastern Europe in the Baroque period, and rural church towers in the Austrian and BavarianAlps still feature them.^[172] Onion-shaped spires can be found in rural and pilgrimage churches in southern Germany, northeastern Italy, the formerCzechoslovakia, Austria, and some of Poland, Hungary, and the formerYugoslavia.^[90]

The church ofSanta Maria Nuova inCortona,Tuscany, was built with a low parallelepiped, drum, and dome at its crossing, in keeping with Bramante's recommendations in hisOpinio.^[173]

The church ofSanta Maria del Quartiere inParma, Italy, was built with ahexagonal dome. The dome has been strengthened with a system of encirclingtie rods.^[174]

The practice of including columns in the supports of a crossing dome did not begin in the city of Rome until the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries, influenced byNorthern Italian churches. Examples in Rome includeSan Salvatore in Lauro andSantissima Trinità dei Pellegrini. The domed extension of theCathedral in Monte Compatri [it] uses the crossing support model of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini but extends the mirrors the column supports in a cruciform pattern.^[175]

The dome of the basilica atMontecassino, by architectOrazio Torriani, was structurally complete by the end of 1613. Surviving letters from Torriani document the materials needed for the construction, including four iron chains for the dome. The basilica was destroyed by bombardment in February 1944 but rebuilt after the war.^[176]

The dome by Carlo Maderno ofSan Giovanni dei Fiorentini was evidently an early inspiration in the planning of the dome ofSant'Andrea della Valle by Moderno and Borromini, but Sant'Andrea della Valle as built is said to be the first modeled on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.^[177]

Oval plan churches spread outside of Rome following Vignola's innovation with the church of Santa Anna dei Palafrenieri.Giovan Battista Aleotti built bothSanta Maria della Celletta [it] in Argenta andSan Carlo Borromeo in Ferrara between 1609 and 1621.^[162] The oval plans synthesize longitudinal and central plan church layouts, allowing clear views of the altar from all points.^[13][178]

Francesco Borromini's dome ofSan Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1638–41) has a novel oval plan that approximates an ellipse using four circular arcs based on the vertices of two large equilateral triangles; a complex geometrical coffer pattern of crosses, octagons, and lozenges is repeated eight times on the dome's inner surface.^{[179][13][178]} The long axis of the dome is 51palms (11.37 meters), the short axis is 36 palms (8.02 meters), and the height is 23 palms (5.13 meters).^[180] Because the dome uses a pattern of coffers that get smaller as they approach the oculus and because it is lit from both above and below, the dome appears lighter and higher than it would otherwise. The church inaugurated the high baroque style in Rome.^[181] A copy based on plans provided by Borromini was built as the church ofMadonna del Prato in Gubbio.^[182]

Borromini's masterpiece is the dome ofSant'Ivo alla Sapienza (1642–50), built forPope Urban VIII at a university in Rome. The ribbed dome has a unique and complex geometry with a large window in each of it six lobes and stucco ornamentation.^[181] Early drawings indicate that the windows in the dome were to behexagons, matching the overall hexagonal groundplan of the church and in apparent reference to thehoneycomb pattern of bees, which were a symbol of the patron'sBarberini family. The spiral shape of the lantern spire has a single bejeweled band that makes three complete turns, which may have been a reference to thetriple crown of the papacy and the three-in-one nature of theTrinity but was intended to practically serve as an access walkway to the top of the spire.^[183]

The style of using ribs in a dome over a coffered background was first expressed over the small chapel of Filippo Neri in the church ofSanta Maria in Vallicella (1647-1651), modified byPietro da Cortona to have small oval windows at its base. Cortona also revised the dome ofSanta Maria della Pace (1656-1659) to have a stepped feature on the exterior, evocative of the Pantheon, and stucco ribs over octagonal coffers on the dome's interior. The domes ofSanti Luca e Martina (begun 1634) andSan Carlo al Corso (1668), both about 14 meters wide with an oval vertical profile, were entirely designed by Cortona.^[184]

The oval plan church ofSant'Andrea al Quirinale (1658–61) byBernini is unusual in that the entrance is on the minor axis and it is often depicted as unique in this respect, but the later churches ofSanti Celso e Giuliano (1735) andSantissimo Nome di Maria (1736) also have this layout.^{[185][13][178]} Bernini's Sant'Andrea al Quirinale is known as the oval Pantheon.^[186]

The visual framing between the facade towers of the dome over the church ofSant'Agnese in Agone and its closeness to the front of the church may have been intended as a criticism of the arrangement of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica relative to its facade.^[187] The original design byCarlo Rainaldi had a dome without a drum, but this was revised by Borromini.^[188]

Work on theCathedral of Santa Margherita in Montefiascone, halted at the level of the drum due to lack of funds, was resumed after a 1670 fire destroyed the temporary wooden roof and damaged the interior. The stone dome was built byCarlo Fontana with eight ribs connected to each other by horizontal arches to resist outward force. It was completed in 1673 and he defended its proportions in print by both citing the measured proportions of other domes as well as the existing geometrical rules of proportion based on materials and supports.^[189] The dome was made of lighttufa stone, 112.5palmi in size, with a thickness around 2.5 palmi. The thickness of the dome does not decrease as it gets higher.^[190] Iron chains to resist lateral movement would be added later.^[191]

Santa Maria in Campitelli (1662-1675) was originally designed with a large oval domed nave, in addition to a smaller circular dome over the sanctuary, but this was abandoned in favor of just a dome over the sanctuary, possible due to cost concerns.^[192]

Galeazzo Alessi's plans for the dome of theBasilica of Saint Mary of the Angels inAssisi (1678) were executed to create a dome on a tall drum, with the drum height being almost twice the amount later recommended by Carlo Fontana in his 1694 book "Il Tempio Vaticano e sua origine" (The Vatican Temple and Its Origins). The dome was built over the transept of the church's Latin cross plan, directly above thePortiuncula, a small church building saved byFrancis of Assisi.^[193] The diameter is about 20 meters. Although circular on the inside, the dome is octagonal in plan on the exterior. It was strengthened by three metal rings after the earthquake of 1832.^[194]

The two domed churches ofSanta Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto were built in thePiazza del Popolo, an entrance to the city of Rome, beginning in 1662 under Carlo Rainaldi and finishing under Bernini from 1671. The two were designed to be symmetrical with each other, initially as two Greek cross plan churches with identical domes, but ultimately Santa Maria in Montesanto, the building on the left, was built with an oval plan dome behind a decagonal drum, and the building on the right, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, was built with a circular plan dome behind an octagonal drum. The differences may be due to the narrower wedge-shaped plot of land for Santa Maria in Montesanto coupled with the desire for the domes to be as large as possible. An oval plan allowed the full width of the left dome to be set farther back from the facade, where there was more space, while still appearing to match the dimensions of the dome of the church on the right. The oval-domed Santa Maria in Montesanto was completed by 1675 but consecrated in 1678. The circular-domed Santa Maria dei Miracoli was consecrated in 1679.^[195]

Thechurch of Sant'Ignazio (1685) in Rome has an illusionistic painting of a dome byAndrea Pozzo on the flat ceiling of the crossing where a real dome would have been, with the proper point to see the painting in the correct perspective marked in the floor by a yellow marble circle.^[196]

TheAugsburg Town Hall (1615-1620), designed byLutheran architectElias Holl, included two towers topped by onion domes and these became part of the city's civic identity by the later seventeenth century. Like the town hall, the Lutheran churches ofHoly Cross [de] andSt. Ulrich [de] have onion domes.^[197] Domes like these gained in popularity in central and southern Germany and in Austria in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly in theBaroque style.^[93]

Onion spires are predominant in Bavarian country churches, such as those on the three towers of the 1688"Kappel" pilgimage church [de] nearWaldsassen by Abraham Leuthner and Georg Dientzenhofer, who had both worked in Prague. Onion domes over the Bavarian pilgrimage churches ofMaria Birnbaum [de] (1661–1682) andWesterndorf [de] (1670) may also indicate influence from Prague through models in architectural design books, such as one by Abraham Leuthner. In other examples, such as the onion dome on the tower ofSt. Ulrich's and St. Afra's Abbey (1602), the influences are less clear.^[198]

Johann Jakob Herkomer [de]'s training in Venice appears to have influenced his thin timber dome overthe Chapel of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows [de] (1684-1692), his family chapel atSameister [de].^[143]

In theChurch of San Lorenzo (1670–87) in Turin,Guarino Guarini, aTheatine monk and mathematician, used interlacing bands or ribs reminiscent of Islamic domes atIznik orCordoba, or theChristian example at Torres Del Río [eu]. The four years he spent in Paris may have influenced the emphasis on forced perspective and optical effects in his domes, in contrast to the more formalistic architectural design of Rome at that time. He used form, color, and light to give the illusion of greater height in his centralized domed churches. His dome over theChapel of the Holy Shroud (1667–90) in Turin is supported by six stacked hexagonal layers of six arches each, arranged such that each layer of arches spring from the peaks of the arches in the layer below them. Although the layers form a cone leading to the base of the dome, each is made progressively smaller to exaggerate the appearance of height. The dome itself is a lighter color than the lower levels of the church, also making it appear even farther away.^[199] The ribs in San Lorenzo and Il Sidone were shaped as catenary curves.^[200]

The idea of a large oculus in a solid dome revealing a second dome originated with Guarini.^[201] He established the oval dome as a reconciliation of the longitudinal plan church favored by the liturgy of the Counter-Reformation and the centralized plan favored by idealists.^[202] Guarini's drawings, including isometric intersections of spheres, barrel vaults, and oval domes as well as drawings explaining construction and ceiling patterns, were published posthumously in theArchitettura Civile and influenced the designs ofHildebrandt, theDientzenhofers, andBalthasar Neumann in Central Europe. With the newly developed mathematics ofcalculus, these experimental designs could be proven and would become the foundation ofRococo spatial arrangements.^[203]

Polish examples of churches with domed transepts include acollegiate church in the city ofŻółkiew (1606–1618), aFranciscan church inŚwięta Anna near Przyrów (1609–1617),the burial place of Ligęza in Rzeszów [pl] (1624–1627),the burial place of Opaliński in Sieraków [pl] (1624–1629), andthe burial place of Sapieha in Kodeń [pl] (founded in 1631).^[8] In Poland, polygonal buildings and earlier medieval towers were often capped with domes in the Renaissance or Baroque styles. The Renaissance domes were generally onion domes stacked on top of one another and separated with so-called lanterns of openwork arcades. An example is the tower at theBasilica of the Holy Trinity in Chełmża. The Baroque domes were characterized by unusual shapes and curves, such as those ofGniezno Cathedral.^{[citation needed]} However, many bulbous domes in the larger cities of eastern Europe were replaced during the second half of the eighteenth century in favor of hemispherical or stilted cupolas in the French or Italian styles.^[204]

In thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Roman Catholic churches with Greek-cross plans and monumental domes designed byTylman van Gameren became popular in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. Examples includeSt. Kazimierz Church (1689–95) and theChurch of St. Anthony of Padua, Czerniaków (1690–92).^[205] The traditionalOrthodox church design in three parts, with a dome over each, was used in hundreds of Orthodox andUniate wooden churches in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. An example of a Polish Roman Catholic wooden dome is on theChurch of SS. Margaret and Judith in Kraków [pl] (1680-1690).^[149]

Tatar wooden mosques in Poland were domed central plan structures with adjacent minarets.^[206] The Tatar mosques of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania used bulbous domes on their minarets, a style apparently influenced by ChristianSlavic folk architecture.^[207]

The church ofSan Pietro di Castello was completed in 1621 with a thin timber dome and lantern, built on a masonry drum.^[143]

Inspired by Palladio's churches, the two-domed church ofSanta Maria della Salute byBaldassare Longhena was built on the edge ofVenice's Grand Canal from 1631 to 1681 to celebrate the end ofa plague in the city in 1630. The larger dome is 130 feet tall over an octagonal nave for public ceremonies and the smaller dome covers the choir used by the clergy for official celebrations.^[208] The larger dome has a span of 60 feet and the smaller dome has a span of 40 feet.^[209] The architect attributed the shape of the domed church to a crown evoked by the dedication of the church to Mary,Queen of Heaven.^[210]

In Paris, the dome ofSt. Marie de la Visitation was built byFrançois Mansart from 1632 to 1633, who would later design the church ofVal-de-Grâce (1645–1710), built to commemorate the birth ofLouis XIV. The dome of Val-de-Grâce, however, was designed byJacques Lemercier after having worked in Rome for seven years. It includes an inscription around the dome relating to theBourbon kings.^[211] Inspired by St. Peter's Basilica, its dome likewise has two shells, but the outer shell is much taller in order to compensate for theforeshortening effect from viewing the exterior dome from nearby on the ground. The inner shell is made of stone and the outer shell is made of wood.^[212]

Oval domes can also be found in secular buildings such as theChâteau de Maisons (1642–6) and the Château deVaux-le-Vicomte (1657).^[186]

In the Parisianchurch of Sainte-Anne-la-Royale [it] (1662),Guarino Guarini, aTheatine monk and mathematician, used interlacing bands or ribs reminiscent of Islamic domes atIznik orCordoba, or theChristian example at Torres Del Río [eu].^[199]

TheChurch of Our Lady of Divine Providence (1656-1661) was built in thePortuguese colonial capital of Goa, India by ItalianTheatines Carlo Ferrarini and Francesco Maria Milazzo. It has a Greek cross plan with a central dome. Visibility of the dome from ground level was reduced by the addition of a towered facade from 1673 to 1675, but it remained prominent when viewed from a distance.^[213] The appearance and framing of the dome between its facade towers was imitated by the so-called "cupoliform churches", such as the Church of Saint Stephen on theisland of Juá (1759), and possibly some 17th century domedHindu temples, includingSaptakoteshwar Temple,Shanta Durga Temple,Mangueshi Temple, andNagueshi Temple.^[214]

The city ofMaastricht, jointly ruled byLiège andBrabant since the 13th century, was conquered byFrederik Hendrik in 1632, after which theStates General assumed the responsibilities of Brabant. Hendrik's court architect,Pieter Post, built a newMaastricht City Hall in a classicist style between 1659 and 1664, accommodating the unique political requirements with separate rooms for the different governing bodies that were grouped around a central domed hall.^[215]

The prosperity of theDutch Golden Age coincided with a period of large church building in the Netherlands by theReformed Church, from the 1640s to the middle of the 1670s.^[216] A domed octagongarrison church [nl] was built atWillenstad byMaurice, Prince of Orange, from 1597-1607.^[217] The brick octagonal church, twenty meters wide, was built at the center of the fortified town.^[218] TheCalvinist government inLeiden built theMarekerk, a domed octagonal preaching church, in the 1640s. The octagonal plan was associated with theDome of the Rock, thought to beSolomon's Temple.^[219] TheOostkerk inMiddelburg was built from 1647-1667 with an octagonal dome and lantern.^[220] Begun in 1668, the LutheranRonde Lutherse Kerk was built in aclassicist style but also was a continuation of the architectural style of the Marekerk and Oostkerk buildings. It was funded by wealthy members of the congregation as well as donations from Germany and Scandinavia, with the dome and lantern covered by copper donated byCharles XI of Sweden.^[221]

In the last quarter of the seventeenth century, domes were features of the gardens of distinguished Dutch country houses.^[222]

Rebuilding after the 1666Great Fire of London included a few new churches with single-shell timber domes, covered on the outside with leadwork and on the inside with plaster. The light weight of these timber domes allowed for thin supporting columns that minimized obstructions to the liturgy for worshipers, as encouraged by theChurch of England's emphasis on open plans for itsreformed liturgical practice.^[223]

The dome at the church ofSt Mary-at-Hill was significantly redesigned byJames Savage in 1827 as a hemispherical sail vault with a small lantern, but the original design byChristopher Wren was built from 1670-1674 as a 17-foot-wide 16-sided lantern topped with a shallow dome. Beneath the lantern, the intersection of four shallow barrel vaults created small pendentives that supported a shallow plaster dome described at the time merely as a "coveing" under the cupola. The cupola itself was likely supported by cross braces under a normal pitched roof that covered everything up to the base of the lantern.^[224]

The church ofSt Benet Fink (1670-1675) was an elongated 10-sided building with six thin stone columns at its center supporting pendentives under a timber oval dome with a small 12-sided lantern. Although admired at the time as one of Wren's finest designs, it was demolished in the early 1840s.^[225]

The church ofSt Stephen Walbrook in London was built by Christopher Wren from 1672 to 1677 and its dome has been called "the first classical dome in England".^[226] Although the dome of St Benet Fink was likely earlier, the dome of St Stephen Walbrook was more ambitious. The timber hemispherical dome spanned more than 13 meters (43 feet) over pendentives and squinches and has been described as "the largest structure of its kind in Europe". It was capped with a cupola and decorated on the interior with plasterworkcoffers. It was reconstructed between 1948 and 1952 after being damaged inWorld War II.^[227]

All Saints' Church, Northampton, was rebuilt from 1675-1680 after the 1675Great Fire of Northampton with a thin timber dome similar in scale to the lantern of St Mary-at-Hill. Although not designed by Christopher Wren, it appears to have been influenced by his designs.^[143]

London's Great Fire of 1666, following a devastatingoutbreak of plague in the city that killed a fifth of its population, spurred the commission of Christopher Wren to rebuildSt. Paul's Cathedral, which occurred over the course of 35 years.Robert Hooke, who first articulated that a thin arch was comparable to an inverted hanging chain, may have advised Wren on how to achieve the crossing dome.^[228][229] Wren may also have been informed of the structural problems of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica byJohn Evelyn, who had examined it, and did not finalize his design for a dome three-quarters its size until shortly before its construction started in 1705.^[230]

When finished, the dome had three layers: an inner dome with an oculus, a decorative outer wooden dome covered in lead roofing, and a structural brick cone in between. The brick cone ends in a small dome that supports the cupola and outer roof and the decorated underside of which can be seen through the inner dome's oculus. The structure rises 365 feet (108 m) to the cross at its summit, but is evocative of the much smallerTempietto byBramante.^[231] The use of the brick cone, in addition to other innovations, allowed the piers beneath the dome to be reduced in size.^[212] The thickness of the brick cone is 450 millimeters.^[232] The inside wall of the drum supporting the inner dome slopes inwards to the base of the dome for structural reasons, a design feature seen in the 1672 model and apparently inspired by Robert Hooke's ideas on arch shape, and three encircling chains were used to resist horizontal thrust.^[233] The dome is supported by eight piers with a veneer of Portland stone over a core of rubble infill, which were damaged by the added pressure from the dome's construction and needed repairs in 1709. The dome was completed in 1710.^[234] The inner side of the dome was painted byJames Thornhill from 1715-1717 with eight scenes of St. Paul from theActs of the Apostles in a brown stone-like color mandated by the presiding committee.^[235] Wren's structural system became the standard for large domes well into the 19th century.^[236] The iron chains used to encircle the 34-meter-wide dome have since been replaced bystainless steel girdles.^[237] Damage to the outer timber truss dome during World War II resulted in the timber being replaced by reinforced concrete.^[238]

Although never very popular in domestic settings, domes were used in a number of 18th century homes built in theNeo-Classical style, including the 1720sChiswick House, in West London.^[239] ThePalladian mansionPenicuik House, built bySir James Clerk, included astable block with a domeddovecote built as a faithful imitation of the destroyed ancient monumentArthur's O'on.^[240] Achapel at Gibside byJames Paine has a trefoil plan with a central dome.^[241] The domed mausoleum byNicholas Hawksmoor atCastle Howard was built in 1742 and is similar toBramante’s Tempietto.Robert Adam referenced theRoman Pantheon dome in his 1767 design ofLuton Hoo inBedfordshire.^[242]

ThePantheon on London'sOxford Street was designed byJames Wyatt in 1770, becoming a fashionable meeting-place for the aristocracy. Its dome was inspired by the dome of the Roman Pantheon but was destroyed in a fire in 1792.^[243]

Domes in EnglishNeoclassical churches are often not visible on the exterior, but were used over octagonal, square, cruciform, and longitudinal plans.^[244] The recommendation of octagonal plans as the ideal church shape for preaching by the Methodist Conference of 1770 may explain the popularity of octagon plans, such as the domed octagons ofOctagon Chapel in Bath (1767) andSurrey Chapel in Southwark (1782-1783).^[245]

St Mary's Chapel in East Lulworth (1786-1787), a Roman Catholic chapel only permitted by KingGeorge III to be built if it did not appear to be a church on the exterior, has a plain exterior but uses a quatrefoil plan with a central dome on pendentives.^[244]

Shallow domes were used over the alters of some churches, such asJohn Soane's remodeling ofWardour Chapel in Wiltshire (1788-1790).^[246]St Mary on Paddington Green Church (1788-1791) has a shallow interior dome on pendentives at the center of its cruciform plan.^[244]

St James' Church in Great Packington (1789-1792), a Greek Cross plan with filled corners, has domes over the corner towers.^[247]

St Mary's Church in Banbury (1790-1797) is similar to Wren's earlier St. Stephen Wolbrook design, with a dome on columns.^[248]

Adjacent to a hospital and retirement home for injured war veterans, the royal chapel ofLes Invalides in Paris, France, was begun in 1679 and completed in 1708. The dome was one of many inspired by that of St. Peter's Basilica and it is an outstanding example ofFrench Baroque architecture. In 1861 the body ofNapoleon Bonaparte was moved from St. Helena to the most prominent location under the dome.

Plans for theChurch of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, were approved in 1757 with a dome 275 feet tall over a Greek cross plan. The architect of the church,Jacques-Germain Soufflot, wanted to surpass the dome of London's St. Paul's Cathedral and, like St. Paul's, the dome consisted of three shells. Unlike St. Paul's, and due to advances in mathematics and engineering, all three shells were built of stone and made a part of a structural system that permitted support by thinner piers and walls.^[249] Finished in 1790 byJean-Baptiste Rondelet, the outward thrust of the domes were restrained by the use of metal rings but issues with the supporting pillars requiredNapoleon to have Rondelet strengthen the pillars in 1806.^[250] Later named the Panthéon, the crossing dome of the building has a span of 65 feet and 8 inches and a height of 47 feet.^[251] Two "pre-tensioned high resistance cables" were added to the dome in the early 21st century.^[252]

TheHalle aux blés, a corn exchange in Paris, was a rotunda was built from 1763 to 1766 byNicolas Le Camus de Mézières with a central circular courtyard 120 feet (36.6 meters) wide. The courtyard was covered with a laminated timber and glass dome built from 1782 to 1783 byAndré Jacob Roubo, to the designs ofJacques-Guillaume Legrand andJacques Molinos. It used the structural system published byPhilibert de l'Orme in his 1561 treatise, with short sections of curved wood sandwiched together with staggered joints and held together with wooden pegs to form longer curved vertical beams braced horizontally by woodenpurlins, which avoided the need for centering. The building became a popular sight in Paris and was seen and admired byThomas Jefferson, who later used the same structural system for the small dome he added to hisMonticello home. The 1783 dome burned down in 1803 and was replaced from 1808 to 1813 with an iron and glass dome designed byFrançois-Joseph Bélanger.^[253]

The IrishParliament House in Dublin, designed byEdward Lovett Pearce and built from 1729 to 1739, included an octagonal dome over a central chamber for theHouse of Commons. The location of the space, especially relative to the barrel-vaultedHouse of Lords, which was off axis on the east side of the building, seemed to symbolize a political dominance by the House of Commons. The dome's outer shell was 31 feet above its inner shell and reminiscent of theRoman Pantheon and the octagonal dome overLord Burlington's Chiswick House. The dome was the only exterior indication of the interior arrangement, but its location and height were such that it could not be easily seen. It was rebuilt after a fire in 1792 but demolished after the building was sold to theBank of Ireland in 1803.^[254]

Thomas Cooley designed theRoyal Exchange in Dublin with a central rotunda.^[255] Built from 1769-1779 in the Neoclassical style, the Pantheon-inspired dome is low on the exterior behind axial porticos. On the interior, the coffered dome is 46 feet (14 meters) in diameter, with twelve circular windows at its base and an oculus at the top.^[256]

Assuming responsibility from the deceased Thomas Cooley, architectJames Gandon builtThe Custom House (beginning in 1781), and theFour Courts building (assuming responsibility in 1784) along theRiver Liffey in Dublin, with prominent central domes. HisKing's Inns building (1795-1800) was delayed due to his having to leave the country during theIrish Rebellion of 1798.^[257]

Although theThirty Years' War delayed the onset of the Baroque style in the areas of theHoly Roman Empire, rebuilding of the many palaces and churches destroyed had begun by the end of the seventeenth century.^[258]

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach studied architecture in Rome before working in Austria. HisChurch of the Holy Trinity (begun 1694) inSalzburg has clear influences from Borromini in its use of the color white, accentuated windows, and the elliptical dome and oculus.^[258]

Guarini's plan for the church of S. Maria Ettinga in Prague inspired a group of buildings built in Bohemia between 1698 and 1710.^[13] An abbey church atObořiště, Bohemia, with two transverse oval vaults in the nave intersecting a third circular dome made to look like an oval, was the first church byChristoph Dientzenhofer to show Guarini's influence. His vaulting system of two transverse oval vaults that do not overlap at theChurch of Svatá Klará in Cheb [cs] was elaborated two years later in thegreat abbey church at Banz (1710–18).^[259]

InBohemia andMoravia,Jan Santini Aichel blended styles in what has become known asbaroque Gothic, as can be seen in his crossing dome at theBenedictine Monastery [cs] atKladruby (1712–26) and the five-lobed dome of theChapel of St. Jan Nepomuk (1719–22). More conventionally baroque is his dome atSt. Peter and Paul Benedictine Monastery [cs] inRajhrad (1722–24).^[260][261]

Banz Abbey, overseen byJohann Dientzenhofer, has a complex arrangement of overlapping and subdivided transverse oval vaults with wide ribs at their intersections that make it difficult to understand the structural system, like Guarini's earlier church of Santa Maria della Divina Providenza in Lisbon.^[259]

Neumann's more traditional longitudinal churches had domes over their crossings, such as his church atGössweinstein [de] (1730–39).^[262] Considered Neumann's masterpiece, theBasilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (1743–72) uses a system of intersecting ovals similar to that at Banz Abbey. Unlike Banz, the bands at the intersection of the vaults are modeled in stucco, rather than being structural. The stone and mortar shells of the domed vaulting are reinforced by iron bars, a technique he also used in the 18-meter-span (59 ft) domed vault covering the staircase at the Würzburg Residence.^[263] It was built in a rural area of Bavaria as a pilgrimage church, as was theWieskirche, and both in the rococo style.^[264]

Hans Georg Asam, father of theAsam brothers C.D. and E.Q. Asam, painted the fresco on the crossing domical vault of the church ofTegernsee Abbey.^[265] The crossing dome ofMaria Hilf pilgrimage church [de] inFreystadt was built free-standing, surrounded by four towers. The interior includes frescos by H. G. Asam between the four windows.^[266] The first dome painting byC.D. Asam is over its crossing of theEnsdorf Abbey church, signed 1714. The dome ofTrinity Church in Munich (1711-1714) was also painted by C.D. Asam and the painting fills the whole space between the four windows.^[267]

Domes by theAsam brothers, such as that ofWeltenburg Abbey (1716-21), blended fresco painting, stucco and indirect lighting to achieve their effects.^[260] At Weltenburg, the perspective painting is intended to be viewed from the entrance and also depicts a round drum supporting a higher ribbed and coffered dome.^[268]

TheRohr Monastery Church [de] (1717-1720) has a crossing dome in the form of a frescoed handkerchief vault. The tower dome was added in 1739.^[269]

An oval resolved the tension between longitudinal and centralized spaces in the dome ofJohann Michael Fischer's rotunda atMurnau (1725–27).^[270] Oval domes can also be found in theAmalienburg pavilion atSchloss Nymphenburg, Munich.^[186]

Neumann's more traditional longitudinal churches had domes over their crossings, such as his church atMünsterschwarzach Abbey (1727–43).^[262] Neumann replaced barrel vaults in basilical plan churches with series of light intersecting elliptical domes.^[271]

Johann Michael Fischer'sabbey church at Rott am Inn (1759–63) has a series of three domical vaults over its nave, with the largest in the center over an octagonal space and painted with an illusionistic fresco byMatthias Günther.^[272]

Domes by theAsam brothers, such as that ofWeingarten Abbey (1715–20), blended fresco painting and stucco to achieve their effects.^[260] At Weingarten, the perspective painting on the east bay handkerchief vault simulates a higher dome and drum.^[273]

The Hofkappele ofLudwigsburg Palace (1715-1718), originally intended for Lutheran use, hasquadratura painting byCarlo Carlone on the four pendentives and dome.^[274]

The monastery church ofSt. Mang's Abbey (1701-1717) by Johann Jakob Herkomer includes a thin timber dome similar to those in Venice, where the architect was trained.^[143]

Unlike the Asam brothers, the Zimmerman brothers,Johann Baptist Zimmermann andDominikus Zimmermann of Bavaria, emphasized white stuccowork under direct lighting blended with fresco painting atWieskirche at Weis (1745–54).^[260]

Neumann's more traditional longitudinal churches had domes over their crossings, such as his church atNeresheim Abbey (1745–92).^[262]

Unlike the Asam brothers, the Zimmerman brothers,Johann Baptist Zimmermann andDominikus Zimmermann of Bavaria, emphasized white stuccowork under direct lighting blended with fresco painting atSt. Peter and Paul Church [de] at Steinhausen (1728–31).^[260]

An oval resolved the tension between longitudinal and centralized spaces in the dome ofDominikus Zimmermann's churchat Steinhausen [de] (1727–33).^[270]

Thechurch of Saint Maria delle Grazie (formerly Saint Caterina) inCasale Monferrato was built byGiovanni Battista Scapitta andGiacomo Zanetti with an oval dome 15 meters by 10 meters, on a 7-meter-tall (23 ft) drum. It was built in 8 years and finished in 1726.^[275]

Appointed bythe King of Savoy as First Architect to the King in 1714,Filippo Juvarra built theBasilica of Superga at Turin between 1717 and 1731. The apparent lightness of its dome may be attributed to both even lighting and the unusual lack of pendentives, with the dome on its circularentablature above eight columns instead.^[276] Its use of bulbous domes on the lantern and side towers was also unusual in Italy, where bulbous domes remained rare.^[172] The basilica was built as the official dynastic mausoleum of theHouse of Savoy, which had governedPiedmont and southeast France since the 15th century. The original intended site of the mausoleum, begun in 1596, was found to have problems with uneven settlement due to the soil and this led to a halt in construction. After efforts to compensate for the settlement, and despite the mausoleum at Superga already being built, construction was resumed to complete the original building as theSanctuary of Vicoforte.^[277]

The Sanctuary of Vicoforte'soval dome, very close to anellipse, was completed in 1731 and is the largest masonry dome of its kind in the world. It measures 37.15 meters by 24.8 meters at its base and is pierced by eight oval windows and a central oval oculus with a cupola. Although iron rings were used as part of the original construction at three levels to hold the dome together, cracks developed as the foundation settled further over the centuries. Additional reinforcement was added from 1985 to 1987 to halt their spread.^[278]

The style of Piedmont spread to Vienna, where Italian architects built oval-plan churches and inspired the building of others.^[13]

Many decades after Guarino Guarini's buildings used them, the crossed-arch dome was revived byBernardo Vittone in projects such as theSanctuary of Valinotto (1738–39) and the Chapel of San Luigi Gonzaga.^{[279][280][276]} Vittone was familiar with Guarini's work and his dome over theChurch of San Bernardino [it] inChieri (1740-1744), the original of which had collapse in 1740, has been called "a lofty system of arches" due to the openings for light left in the pendentives and in the vaulting of adjacent bays.^[281]

Oval domes are found inLiguria, such as the church ofSan Torpete (1730–33) inGenoa, but the use of stone in this region, rather than the brick predominant in the architecture of Piedmont, limited their size.^[13]

Bulbous domes gained in popularity in central and southern Germany and in Austria in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly in theBaroque style.Dresden in particular has outstanding examples, including the lantern over the large central dome of theDresden Frauenkirche (1726–39).^[93]

German Baroque architecture resolved the tension between longitudinal and centralized spaces through the use of ovals. Examples include the domes ofBalthasar Neumann's Hofkirche atWürzburg Residence (1733) and Hofkapelle atWerneck [de] (1733).^[270]

Neumann's more traditional longitudinal churches had domes over their crossings, such as his churches atEtwashausen [de] (1733–45) andGaibach [de] (1742-45).^[262]

The two-shell dome ofSaint Blaise Abbey in theBlack Forest by French architectPierre Michel d'Ixnard [fr], with an internal span of 33.7 meters, dates from 1768 and rests on a ring of columns. It has been seen as a "landmark in the transition from Italian to French models in South German architecture" and may have been inspired by the Church of St. Genevieve, although the structural system was controversial.^[282][283] The 15.4-meter-wide (51 ft) center of the inner dome dates is a thin membrane structure that dates from 1910-1913.^[283]

TheChurch of Saint Agostino [it] inL'Aquila was built byGiovanni Battista Contini with an oval dome 21.5 meters by 15.5 meters after a 1703 earthquake destroyed the previous church. The oval dome was built directly on its piers, with no intervening drum. The outer octagonal timburio is non-structural but there are eight structural buttresses that support the dome through those walls. An earthquake in 2009 destroyed the lantern above the dome.^[275]

ThePalais Schwarzenberg forHeinrich Franz von Mansfeld was designed byJohann Lukas von Hildebrandt, beginning in 1697, but the architect was replaced byJohann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in 1720, who completed the building. It includes a domed vestibule the appears on the exterior only as a drum. The drum-without-dome motif may have been intended to refer to the "open crown" ofGerman counts found on theHouse of Mansfeld heraldic crest, but may ultimately derive from engravings of the unfinished drum of St. Peter's Basilica published between 1564 and 1588.^[284]

The oval dome ofSt. Peter's Church inVienna (1702–33) is almost exactly the same as Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach's Church of the Holy Trinity, although it was designed byJohann Lukas von Hildebrandt. The dome of von Erlach'sKarlskirche (1716–24) is also very similar, but with round windows in the dome itself in addition to the windows of the drum and with dark trim at both the base of the drum and the base of the dome.^[258]

EmpressMaria Theresa commissioned theGardekirche [de] as part of a relocated crown-sponsored hospital inVienna and it was built between 1755 and 1763. Its oval dome was decorated in the rococo style popular among the city's elites and it would serve as a model for the church built inthe Nadelburg, which was founded by the Habsburgs.^[264]

Although the church ofSant'Ignazio all'Olivella in Palermo was opened in 1622, the dome was not designed until 1731. It was destroyed during World War II and replaced with a dome made of a combination or masonry and reinforced concrete.^[285]

Because of the imprecision of oval domes in theRococo period, resting them on drums created problems and the domes instead often rested directly on arches or pendentives.^[286] The oval dome of theTrinity church in Bratislava was built between 1717 and 1745. It is very similar to that of St. Peter's Church in Vienna, which the architect, Antonio Galli Bibiena, had briefly worked on, but is decorated instead by painting in thetrompe-l'œil technique for which theBibiena family is known.

The dome of Santa Maria Assumpta (c. 1770) inSabbioneta, designed by Bibiena, employs a complex trompe-l'œil effect. A double dome, the inner dome is an openlatticework through which the outer dome can be seen, which is painted to appear to be a clear sky.^[287]

The dome of theBasilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua, was added to the 15th century church byFilippo Juvarra between 1733 and 1765.^[288]

A crossing dome onDubrovnik Cathedral (1671-1713) had been part of the original 1671-1673 designs by Italian architectAndrea Bufalini to replace a Romanesque church that likewise had a crossing dome.^[289] Although the design was revised by architectTommaso Napoli after 1689, the dome actually constructed by local and final architectIlija Katičić after 1704 returned to the initial Bufalini design of a circular drum with classical features in the Roman Baroque style.^[290] The church is similar to the earlierSan Giovanni dei Fiorentini, which has a 1618 dome byCarlo Maderno.^[291]

A small wooden Greek Catholic church inRównia, theChurch of the Protection of the Mother of God [pl] (1700-1750) is representative of hundreds of wooden Uniate churches in Poland's eastern provinces. It is composed of three domed parts, following the traditional divisions of an Orthodox church building.^[149]

Polish churches evidently inspired by the work of Borromini and Guarino Guarini include the oval domedCistercian Church at Ląd (1728-1735) byPompeo Ferrari, theDominican church in Lviv (1745-1759) byJan de Witte, and theChurch of St. Stanislaus the Bishop in Rydzyna [pl] (1746-1750) byKarol Marcin Frantz [pl].^[292]

An example of a Polish Roman Catholic wooden dome can be found on a church inMnichów built between 1765 and 1770.^[149]

Amosque in Dovbuchishki [be] had an unusually large seven-sided wooden dome 11.5 meters high that covered the 7.5-meter (25 ft) width and most of the 11-meter (36 ft) length of the prayer hall.^[293] The dome was painted red with a tincrescent and dates on cemetery gravestones indicate it was built around 1767.^[294]

During the reign ofCatherine the Great, Scottish architectCharles Cameron designed thePavlovsk Palace (1781-1786) afterPalladio's Villa Rotonda.^[242]

In Granada, stuccowork was introduced byFrancisco Hurtado Izquierdo and used to embellish classical forms in the dome (c. 1702) and sacristy dome (c. 1713–42) ofLa Cartuja, in contrast to earlier vaults such as that ofSan Jerónimo (1523–43), which used diagonal ribs in an idiosyncratic way and had apparentMoorish influences.^[295]

The church ofSanta María Magdalena (1690-1709) in Seville has a nine-meter diameter dome built byLeonardo de Figueroa with an inner brick dome and outer wooden shell, similar to the system used for thePiedad chapel in Seville's Hermandad del Baratillo [es] (1724).^[155]

Examples of Baroque domes in Naples includeSantissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, which has neither drum nor lantern,Santa Maria della Colonna, which has a drum but no lantern,Sant'Angelo a Nilo, which is the only dome in the city to have a lantern but no drum, andSantissima Annunziata Maggiore, which has both a drum and a lantern like most domes of its era.^[296]

In theValencian Community, thin brick domes covered in glazed tiles were built using techniques later made famous byRafael Guastavino.^[297] TheChurch of Sant Roc d'Oliva (1729) inOliva was built with an ellipsoidal dome over a low drum on a Greek cross plan and a half-dome with lantern over theretrochoir. The ribbed seven meter wide dome was made in a single shell of two layers of brick with a thickness one hundredth of the dome's span. The dome is covered by blue glazed roofing tiles in eight sections separated by lines of white tiles. Other contemporary Valencian examples include those at theChurch of Saint Thomas and Saint Philip Neri [es] and theChurch of Saint Andrew the Apostle [es].^[298]

Resolution of theWar of the Spanish Succession allowed work to resume in 1717 on theSanctuary of St. Ignatius of Loyola, begun in 1689. The dome designed byCarlo Fontana was completed in 1738 byIgnacio Ibero [es]. The 20-meter-wide (66 ft) dome was uniquely made of two stone shells about 32 cm apart, connected by eight ribs. The outer stone dome was arched slightly steeper than the inner hemispherical shell, but structural issues required two iron bands to be added at the base for reinforcement immediately upon completion. The inner stone dome was highly decorated with relief carving by Ibero, who had been an apprentice to theChurriguera and their followers.^[299]

TheBasilica of St. Juan de Dios [es] (1734-1757) in Granada was built byJosé de Bada [es] as a mausoleum church for the remains ofSt. John of God. The otherwise stone-vaulted church has a crossing dome composed of an inner brick shell and an outer wooden shell, following the treatise advice ofFray Lorenzo. The four supporting arches beneath the pendentives were doubled in width after 1738 due to structural concerns. The inner hemispherical shell of the dome, 11.7 meters in diameter, is connected to and supports only the thin inner brick shell of the lantern. The outer wooden shell supports the outer brick shell of the lantern and transfers its weight to the drum. The exterior of the dome is roofed with green and white glazed tiles, as occurs frequently in southeast Spain.^[300]

TheHermitage of San Marcos (1784) inOlocau del Rey was built with a 9.20-meter (30.2 ft) dome in two shells over a slender brick drum withMudéjar influences on a Greek cross plan. The inner dome is six centimeters thick on average, using a single layer of brick between eight ribs made of two layers of brick. The higher outer shell is two bricks thick at an average of nine centimeters.^[301]

The crossing dome of theArchpriestal Church of San Jaime [es] (1779) inVillarreal was 12 meters wide and included a wrought iron chain, discovered during restoration. The octagonal drum has eight windows that penetrate the circular dome with conical vaulting from thelunettes, creating agothic appearance. Both the inner and outer shells are two bricks thick.^[302]

Therotunda of the Escola Pía [es] (last third of the eighteenth century) has a diameter of 24.5 meters and can be considered the culmination of the Valencianclassicist domes.^[303]

The dome of theRoyal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida (1798) inMadrid was unusually painted byFrancisco Goya to depict the actions of the saint on Earth, rather than heavenly scenes.^[304]

The domes in Mexico are single shell constructions with few exceptions. Examples include theConvent of San Francisco, theTemple of San Fernando [es], andLa Santísima Church. Domes and lanterns are commonly covered with glazedtiles.^[305] The Capilla Real at theSan Gabriel Franciscan Convent inCholula, Mexico, had nine barrel vaults covering its nine naves when completed in 1544 but these collapsed in 1588. A long project to replace the roofing with tiled domes was completed in 1731, giving the chapel an appearance similar to the hypostyle hall of theMosque–Cathedral of Córdoba.^[306]

The church at theMission San Xavier del Bac was built by 1797 in the northwestern frontier ofPimería Alta in New Spain, todayArizona. The cruciform church has a dome at the crossing and a dome over the sacristy, built with fired adobe bricks set in lime mortar. The dome is supported on an octagonal base formed by corbelled triangular panels under squinches. The twelve-inch-thick dome was built about 53 feet over the floor, either with an all-wooden centering or with a wooden structure supporting a layer of earth fill to support the dome during construction. The technique of using earth fill above a timber falsework had been used in Europe to build domes since the Romanesque era, and continued to be used in Mexico into the twentieth century.^[307]

The dome ofTrapani Cathedral was built from 1734 to 1736 byGiovanni Amico [it], following the Palermo earthquake of 1726. It was built with four cylindrical buttresses attached to the drum.^[308]

The oval dome of theChurch of Santa Chiara [it] inNoto, Sicily, was built byRosario Gagliardi and completed in 1753. It is afalse dome 20.5 meters long and 13.2 meters wide and made of a series of parallel wooden arches hidden with planks andstucco on the inside surface. Unlike similar work elsewhere in Italy, it is self-supporting and unconnected to the earlier truss roof above it. The oval domes of the church of the Addolorata atNiscemi was based on designs by Gagliardi and the 1755 vault over the church of San Giuseppe in Syracuse by Carmelo Bonaiuto is also related. The dome over the crossing of four ribs springing from the centers of it supporting arches and is also a self-supporting false vault made of wood covered in plaster.^[309]

After the destruction of the1693 earthquake in theVal di Noto region of Sicily, churches were rebuilt in theBaroque style, often with tall domes. Because of the high costs involved and the priority for the churches being to reopen, the domes were completed up to a century after the start of reconstruction and used the simplified decorative style popular at that time. InCatania, the domes built included those ofBadia di Sant'Agata (1759-1767), 16 meters wide on an octagonal drum,San Michele Arcangelo (1771-1787 or 1779), 11 meters wide on a circular drum with iron chains added in 1850,San Nicolò l’Arena (1778-1780), 13.75 meters wide on a circular drum and reinforced pillars, andthe Cathedral (1793-1800), which had a dome completed in 1717 that was replaced with a larger dome 12.5 meters in diameter to compete with the dome of Badia di Sant'Agata. InCaltagirone, the dome ofSanta Maria del Monte (1774-1780) was built 8 meters wide on a cylindrical drum. InPiazza Armerina, the dome of theCathedral (1760-1767) was made 13.75 meters wide over a cylindrical drum.^[310]

The dome ofIglesia de El Sagrario, Quito (begun 1695), is the highest in Quito and was built both wider and higher than the dome of the earlier Church of Our Lady of Guápulo. The Chapel of the Virgin of the Rosary (1733-1750) in theChurch of Santo Domingo in Quito [es] was built with three segments. The first two are capped with high domes and lanterns. The third segment, behind the sanctuary, has a smaller dome and lantern.^[311]

Churches with timber vaults were built in Peru under the viceroyalty.St. Jerome Cathedral inIca, representative of churches built along the Peruvian coast, was built with timber vaults over its nave and transept, small timber domes over its aisles, and a large timber crossing dome, supported on timber-framed pillars. It was severely damaged by the2007 Peru earthquake.^[312]

Quincha domes following the 17th century model of the Church of San Francesco in Lima were built in the capital and elsewhere, such as the dome over theimperial staircase of theMercedarian main cloister that was rebuilt between 1759 and 1762.^[313] Other 18th century examples include the dome of the church of San Francisco inTrujillo (rebuilt after 1759) and the dome of thecamarín of thechurch of La Merced in Lima (1774).^[157]

InQuito, Ecuador,La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús was built about 100 km away from an active fault line. The dome was built with adobe-concrete and tiles. Although the cruciform arrangement of the church allows it to withstand some horizontal force, the materials used were chosen for their resistance to compression only and the earthquakes it has experienced have required many repairs.^[314]

Domes were rare in Portuguese architecture, but can be found in churches associated with the royal court, such as thePalace of Mafra,Igreja da Memória (started in 1760),Estrela Basilica (1779-1790), andN. S. de Ares at Viana do Alentejo [pt] (1743). The architecture ofnorthern Portugal generally avoided masonry vaulting afterthe Romanesque period but used wooden ceilings to simulate it.^[315]

After the middle of the seventeenth century, large churches inMinas Gerais and elsewhere included cupolas at the top of their facade towers. Wooden ceilings over oval naves in this region of Brazil imitated cloister vaults or shallow oval domes, which may be an influence of the architecture of northern Portugal. Examples include the churches ofN. S. do Carmo (1774),N. S. do Rosário (c. 1785), andS. Francisco de Assis (1763-1794). Other domes include those of theChurch of Saint Anne inBelém,Candelária Church inRio de Janeiro, and the chapels of theSanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos.^[316]

In the United States, most public buildings in the late 18th century were only distinguishable from private residences because they featured cupolas, such as that of theMaryland State House or the smaller, and more typical, example over theOld State House of Delaware.^[317] Maryland State House inAnnapolis was rebuilt in the 1770s with a pointed octagonal dome designed in 1772, the first over anAmerican state house.^[318] The dome was covered with copper sheeting.^[319] Annapolis served as the capital of the country for ten months beginning in 1783, during which timeGeorge Washington resigned his military commission and Congress formally approved theTreaty of Paris, ending theAmerican Revolutionary War.^[320] This dome, which leaked and was criticized as "inadequate, unimpressive, and too small for the building" and constructed "contrary to the rules of architecture", was replaced with the taller present design after 1784.^{[318][321][322]} The present dome was made of wood held together with wooden pegs and the exterior was completed by 1788; the interior was completed by 1797.^[321] The dome is similar to that ofthe Schlossturm in Karlsruhe, Germany.^[321] It is topped with an originallightning rod to Benjamin Franklin's design, supported by a surrounding copper and gold acorn and pedestal.^[323] The Massachusetts State House, built in the decade after the Maryland State House dome, included a dome after it was decided that the national capitol building would have one.^[324][325]

The design for the national capitol building approved byGeorge Washington includeda dome modeled on the Pantheon but the design was subsequently revised and construction did not begin until 1822.^[326] Several states added prominent domes to their assembly buildings as a result of the choice for the national capitol, and completed them before the national capitol dome was finished.^[327] ArchitectCharles Bulfinch, following a tour of Europe from 1785-1787, designed and built both theConnecticut State House (1793-1796) and theMassachusetts State House (1795-1797) before the national capitol competition concluded. The Connecticut State House appears to have been a simplified version ofLiverpool Town Hall (1748-1755).^[328] Although Bulfinch designed the Connecticut State House with a dome, a dome was not actually built until 1822 and used a different design possibly based upon that ofNew York City Hall.^[329] Bulfinch took inspiration from London'sSomerset House (1776-1784) for the Massachusetts State House exterior and the domed Great Room of James Wyatt's Pantheon (1772) for the Representative's Hall.^[328] In Massachusetts, the exterior dome is not visible from the interior of the building. The wooden exterior of the dome was initially painted white, then covered in canvas painted to resemble lead roofing with a gilded pinecone finial. The entire dome was later gilded.^[320]

Thomas Jefferson'sMonticello, begun in the 1770s, had the first dome to be built on an American home.^[239][330] The octagonal saucer dome with skylight oculus was built with curved wooden ribs made of four layers of short overlapping curved planks joined together with iron nails. Woodenpurlins braced the ribs in two horizontal rings. The dome was completed after 1796.^[331] The inspiration for Jefferson's dome seems to have been the similar octagonal dome atWrotham Park designed in 1754 byIsaac Ware, which has since been removed, rather than the octagonal dome atChiswick House. Wrotham Park's dome was also positioned directly behind a portico, used round windows, and covered a space that did not extend down to the ground floor.^[332]

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