History of early modern period domes

Domes built in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuriesrelied 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 stylethroughout the sixteenth century. The use oflantern towers,or timburios, which hid dome profiles on the exterior declined in Italy as the use of windoweddrumsbeneath 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-Reformationarchitecture in theBaroquestyle.

Multi-story spires with truncated bulbouscupolassupporting smaller cupolas or crowns were used at the top of important sixteenth-century spires, beginning in the Netherlands. TraditionalOrthodoxchurch domes were used in hundreds of Orthodox andUniatewooden 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 colonizationof Mexico. An anti-seismic technique for building calledquinchawas 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.

Developments

Further information:Counter-ReformationandBaroque architecture

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.Other techniques used to reduce lateral thrust were to add abuttressat 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.The structural behavior of previous domed buildings acted as full-scale models to inform new ones and smallscale modelsof new projects were also relied upon. Traditional geometric rules of proportion for domes were applied bymaster buildersregardless of size, but helped new domes be built in forms known to be safe.

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.

The first rotating observatory dome was built in the sixteenth century, inKassel.

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.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 architectureand theCounter-Reformation.

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 GiustinainPadua(begun in 1532),Mantua Cathedral(added after 1540),Church of the Gesùin Rome (1568–1580), andSan Giorgio Maggiore in Venice(begun in 1566).The domes of the Abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua may have been inspired by those ofil Santo.

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 dometraces 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.Alonso de Vandelvira 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 Guldinestablished that the "elongated semicircle" of traditional practice is an ellipse.

A treatise byVincenzo Scamozzifrom 1615 gives examples of a typology of vaults and domes, but not a general and thorough theory.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 andlanternswere first detailed in 1694 byCarlo Fontanain his famous treatiseIl Tempio Vaticano e sua Origine.The treatise by Guarino Guarini, published posthumously in 1737, included the way to draw various vaults, but not how to build them.Building on Fontana's work,Bernardo Antonio VittonepublishedIstruzioni elementari dell’architettura civilein 1760, in which he recommended usingogivalorellipsoidalprofiles 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.

Over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, developments in mathematics and the study ofstaticsled 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: thecatenarycurve.In 1704, James Bernoulli wrote that an inverted catenary arch of any thickness will resist its own weight, which likely inspiredPierre Bouguerto 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.In the late eighteenth century, the ideal shape for a dome was debated byCharles Bossut,Lorenzo Mascheroni,Giuseppe Venturoli,andLeonardo Salimbeni,among others.

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.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 analyse individually, rather than being considered as whole units unto themselves.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.He published hisMémoirein 1736, "the first treatise on the theory of the dome", with possible stable forms for domes when ignoring friction.A. F. Frézierbuilt 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.

Sixteenth century

Italian Renaissance

Main article:History of Italian Renaissance domes

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.Florence was the first Italian city to develop the new style, followed by Rome, and then Venice.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.

Papal States

Further information:Papal States

TheTempiettoin Rome

The Tempietto in Rome, a small domed building modelled on theTemple of Vesta,was built in 1502 byBramantein the cloister ofSan Pietro in Montorioto 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.

Bramante's 1505–6 projects for a wholly newSt. Peter's Basilicamark the beginning of the displacement of the Gothic ribbed vault with the combination of dome and barrel vault, which proceeded throughout the sixteenth century.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 Sforzain 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).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.

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.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.

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 Palafrenieriwas 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 Incurabiliwas 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 ordersfounded between 1524 and 1621.

St. Peter's Basilica

Further information:St. Peter's Basilica § Dome: successive and final designs

St. Peter's Basilicain Vatican City

Bramante's initial design for the rebuilding ofSt. Peter's Basilicawas for a Greek cross plan with a large central hemispherical dome and four smaller domes around it in aquincunxpattern. Work began in 1506 and continued under a succession of builders over the next 120 years.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.Proposed inspirations for Bramante's plan have ranged from some sketches ofLeonardo da Vincito the Byzantine quincunx church and the dome of Milan'sBasilica of San Lorenzo.Bramante is said to have likened his design to placing thePantheonon top of theBasilica of Constantine.He completed the four massive central piers and the arches linking them by 1512, but cracking in the arches was detected between 1514 and 1534, possibly due to settling. The two eastern piers rest on solidmarland clay, while the other two rest upon remains of earlier Roman construction.That the piers and arches were left to stand with incompletebuttressingwhile construction stopped for over 30 years was also a factor.

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 SangalloandFra 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.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.

Michelangeloredesigned the dome to have two shells, a mostly brick internal structure, and three iron chains to resist outward pressure.His dome was a lower, hemispherical design.He further strengthened the piers by eliminating niches in them and the internal spiral staircase.Michelangeloobtained a decree fromPope Julius IIIthat threatened aninterdictionagainst 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.An artist and sculptor, rather than an engineer, Michelangelo did not create full engineering plans for the dome and his model lacked construction details.The dome of St. Peter's basilica was later built byGiacomo della PortaandDomenico Fontana.

Pope Sixtus VappointedGiacomo della PortaandDomenico Fontanain 1588 to begin construction of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica 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 lineby 4.8 meters, and changing the shape of the dome.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. 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.

The lantern is 17 meters high and the dome is 136.57 meters from the base to the top of the cross.Theogivaldome 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.The two shells of the dome are brick and each about 1.19 meters thick at the base of the dome. 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.

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

Cracks in the dome were noticed as early at 1603, when the mosaics covering the dome interior were completed, and additional cracks were recorded after 1631 and in 1742, demonstrating progression.Five more tie rings were added around the dome in 1743-44 byLuigi Vanvitelli.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.Giovanni Poleni's 1748 report on the state of the dome, written in response to observed cracking, anticipated thesafe theoremby 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."His observation of cracks in the outer shell by the ribs has more recently been attributed by computer models to the heavy lantern.

Republic of Venice

Further information:Republic of Venice

TheVilla Capra,or "La Rotonda", nearVicenza.

In Venice, there is evidentByzantineinfluence in the line of three domes over thenaveand crossing of the church ofSan Salvador,built between 1506 and 1534 by Giorgio Pietro Spavento andTullio Lombardo.

TheVilla Capra,also known as "La Rotunda", was built byAndrea Palladiofrom 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 architectsof 18th century England, architects in Russia, and architects in America,Thomas Jeffersonamong them.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.

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 ofplaguein the city.Inspired by these churches, the two-domed church ofSanta Maria della SalutebyBaldassare Longhenawas built on the edge ofVenice's Grand Canalfrom 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.The architect attributed the shape of the domed church to a crown evoked by the dedication of the church to Mary,Queen of Heaven.

Republic of Florence

Further information:Republic of Florence § The "Dukes of the Republic of Florence"

TheMedici Chapelin Florence was designed byMichelangeloand built between 1521 and 1534.In 1569, the dome over the church ofMadonna dell'UmiltàinPistoiawas completed byGiorgio Vasariat the behest ofCosimo I de' Medici,over a building designed and built by others. Although clearly referencingFlorence Cathedralvisually and in the use of two shells, structurally the octagonal dome is similar to the much earlier dome ofFlorence Baptisteryand 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.

House of Habsburg and the Holy Roman Empire

Further information:House of HabsburgandHoly Roman Empire

Habsburg Netherlands

Further information:Habsburg Netherlands,Seventeen Provinces,andSpanish Netherlands

European map of territory underCharles Vin 1556.

In the fifteenth century, pilgrimages to and flourishing trade relations with theNear Easthad exposed theLow Countriesof northwest Europe to the use of bulbous domes in the architecture of theOrientand 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.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.

Kingdom of the Germans

Further information:Kingdom of Germany

In the early sixteenth century, thelanternof the Italian dome had spread to Germany as a wood and copper cupola called thewelsche Haube( "Italian hood" ) and this structure gradually adopted the bulbous cupola from the Netherlands. The first such example was on the tower of the town hall ofEmden(1574–76) and other early examples were on the town halls ofBrzeg,Silesia(1570–76),Rothenburg ob der Tauber(1572–78), andLemgo(c. 1589).

Russian architecture strongly influenced the many bulbous domes of the wooden churches ofBohemiaandSilesia,such as the1506 wooden church towerinPniówand thechurch of St. Anna in Czarnowancz.This type blended into German rural architecture such that, in Bavaria, bulbous domes less resembleDutchmodels than Russian ones. The polygonal domes on the towers of theFrauenkirche in Munichfrom about 1530 and the hexagonal domes of thetown hall of Augsburgfrom 1615 are examples. Domes like these gained in popularity in central and southern Germany and in Austria in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly in theBaroque style.Dresdenin particular has outstanding examples, including the lantern over the large central dome of theDresden Frauenkirche(1726–39).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.

Prague

InPrague,thewelsche Haubewas 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 blendGothicforms 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 churchesencouraged their adoption in the nearby regions ofBavaria,Southern Germanyand theAustrian Empire.Drawings of the city of Prague from 1562 and 1606 show towers andspirescapped with onion domes. They are seen on theRosenbergPalace, theold town water tower,and the main spire ofSt. Vitus Cathedral(1561-1563), the design of which had been approved byEmperor Ferdinandin 1560.

Duchy of Milan

Further information:Duchy of Milan

European map of territory underPhillip IIin 1580.

Milan,between 1550 and 1650, initiated construction of domes for many important churches. Domes in theLombard regionwere traditionally hidden externally bylantern towerscalled timburios, a technique dating fromlate Antiquitywhose structural behavior was well known, but this began to change starting in the 1560s. Domes exposed externally, or "extradoxed", were proposed by architectPellegrino Tibaldifor the church ofchurch of San Fedele(1568–69), thechurch of San Sebastiano(1578-86), and theSanctuary of Caravaggio(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.

Habsburg Spain and its colonies

Further information:Habsburg SpainandSpanish Empire

Domed chapels include those of the Naselli chapel in theChurch of San Francesco all'Immacolata in Comiso(1520s) and the Confrati chapel inSanta Maria de Betlem, Modica(1520s). A small dome over one of the side chapels in the church of Valverde in Sassari, Sardinia, may date to the 1530s or later.The "Murcia Dome" over the Chapel of the Junterones inMurcia Cathedral,built in 1540 byJerónimo Quijano,has atoralgeometry achieved by the revolution of a transverse semicircular arch about the oblong plan's short axis.

Dome of the Royal Chapel at Seville Cathedral.

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

Barrel vaults and domes are introduced into the gothic church style of the island of Sardinia in the second half of the 16th century by engineers working for theSpanish Crownand 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(1577-1580), and the octagonal dome on pendentives of theChurch of Santa Caterina in Sassari(1578-1609).

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 extradoxed 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.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.The influence of the dome at El Escorial is evident in domes at the church of theCollege of Nosa Señora da AntigainMonforte de Lemos(redesigned after 1592 to be extradoxed and have a drum),Real Colegio Seminario del Corpus ChristiinValencia(altered to include a drum between 1595 and 1597), the church of San Pablo and San Justo inGranada(completed in 1622 with a similar drum), and in the domed tower at theMonastery of Irache.The similarities in the dome overCerralbo ChapelatCiudad 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 domeup to 32 degrees, rather than radial courses.

Global map of territory under Phillip II in 1598.

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.Adobewas widely used in early examples but these buildings were often destroyed by earthquakes or replaced.Thick rib cross-vaulting in a dome-like shape was used in the 16th century. Most churches used abell-gableinstead 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.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 todormerson the exterior that are treated as if part of a drum. An examples is the dome of theChurch of San HipólitoinMexico City.TheCathedral of MéridainYucatán,Mexico, was the first cathedral finished on the American continent and contains a domed trellis vault with a grid of ribs byJuan Miguel de Agüerothat is dated to 1598.

Alonso de Vandelvira'sTratado 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 Cordobaand the chapter house dome ofSeville Cathedral.The dome ofSan Sebastian in Alcaraz, Spain,was completed in 1592 and is said to have been designed byAndrés de Vandelvirabefore his death. It uses a lattice vault design with a grid of stone structural ribs. Thecaissonsare filled in with lighter or smaller blocks of stone.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Further information:Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Dome ofSigismund's ChapelinKraków

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 ChapelinKraków(1517–1533).As elements likely associated withRoman Catholicchurch 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.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.

In Poland, Orthodox andGreek Catholicchurches 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(c. 1600), and theChapel of the Three Saints(after 1671).

Kingdom of France

Stereotomy,custom cutting of stone voussoirs to form a vault, was first used in French non-ribbed domes at theChâteau de Bournazel(1545) and thePendentif de Valence(1548); the technique would be rare in France until the seventeenth century.The dome of a chapel atChâteau d'AnetbyPhilibert 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 voussiors 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.

Seventeenth century

Grand Duchy of Tuscany

Further information:Grand Duchy of Tuscany

The church ofSanta Maria NuovainCortona,Tuscany,was built with a low parallelepiped, drum, and dome at its crossing, in keeping with Bramante's recommendations in hisOpinio.

Spanish Habsburgs

Further information:Habsburg SpainandIberian Union

In Spain, oval churches of the seventeenth century include theConvent of Las Bernardas in Alcalá de Henares,begun in 1617, thechurch of the Virgen de los Desamparadosin Valencia around 1650, and theOratory of San Filippo Neriin Cádiz at the end of the century.ArchitectPedro Sánchezbuilt oval domes over his churches ofSaint Hermenegildoin 1616 andSan Antonio de los Alemanesin 1624.

In Sardinia, theChurch of San Michele in Algherowas built from the second decade to the second half of the 17th century and includes a dome on an octagonal drum.

Giuseppe Nuvolobuilt the church ofSan Carlo all'Arenaaround 1626 in Naples, the first of several oval plan churches that would be built there until the middle of the eighteenth century.

TheBasilica of San Lorenzoin Milan.

In Milan, proposals for the dome ofSan Lorenzo(built in 1619) included versions both with and without timburios, although, along with thequincunxplanChurch 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.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.

Saint Peter's AbbeyinGhentwas rebuilt in 1629, having been destroyed in theProtestant uprisingthat 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.

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.

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.The dome of Seville'sChurch of Santa María de las Nieves(begun 1659) usedstuccoto create high-relief scrolling foliage patterns like those of Islamicarabesque ornament.In Granada, stuccowork was introduced byFrancisco Hurtado Izquierdoand 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 apparentMoorishinfluences.

InLima,the "City of Kings", capital of Spain'sViceroyalty of Peru,frequent earthquakes prompted the use ofquinchaconstruction 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 daubtechnique 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 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).

A lightweight dome made with a wooden frame, woven reeds, and plastered with agypsummortar was built overMessina CathedralinSicilyin 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 poplarwood 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.

Austrian Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire

Further information:Habsburg Monarchy

TheAugsburg Town Hall(1615-1620), designed byLutheranarchitectElias 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 CrossandSt. Ulrichhave onion domes.

Oval domes can also be found in theAmalienburgpavilion atSchloss Nymphenburg,Munich.

Onion spires are predominant in Bavarian country churches, such as those on the three towers of the 1688"Kappel" pilgimage churchnearWaldsassenby Abraham Leuthner and Georg Dientzenhofer, who had both worked in Prague. Onion domes over the Bavarian pilgrimage churches ofMaria Birnbaum(1661–1682) andWesterndorf(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.

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 BavarianAlpsstill feature them.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.

Church of San Lorenzoin Turin.

In theChurch of San Lorenzo(1670–87) in Turin,Guarino Guarini,aTheatinemonk and mathematician, used interlacing bands or ribs reminiscent of Islamic domes atIznikorCordoba,or theChristian example at Torres Del Río.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.The ribs in San Lorenzo and Il Sidone were shaped as catenary curves.

The idea of a large oculus in a solid dome revealing a second dome originated with Guarini.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.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 Civileand influenced the designs ofHildebrandt,theDientzenhofers,andBalthasar Neumannin Central Europe. With the newly developed mathematics ofcalculus,these experimental designs could be proven and would become the foundation ofRococospatial arrangements.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Further information:Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish examples of churches with domed transepts include acollegiate churchin the city ofŻółkiew(1606–1618), aFranciscanchurch inŚwięta Annanear Przyrów (1609–1617),the burial place of Ligęza in Rzeszów(1624–1627),the burial place of Opaliński in Sieraków(1624–1629), andthe burial place of Sapieha in Kodeń(founded in 1631).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.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.

In thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,Roman Catholic churches with Greek-cross plans and monumental domes designed byTylman van Gamerenbecame 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).The traditionalOrthodoxchurch design in three parts, with a dome over each, was used in hundreds of Orthodox andUniatewooden churches in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Of the many Polish Roman Catholic wooden domes built in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, examples with domes include theChurch of SS. Margaret and Judith in Kraków(1680-1690) and a church inMnichówbuilt between 1765 and 1770.Tatarwooden mosques in Poland were domed central plan structures with adjacent minarets.

Duchy of Parma

Further information:Duchy of Parma

The church ofSanta Maria del QuartiereinParma,Italy, was built with ahexagonaldome. The dome has been strengthened with a system of encirclingtie rods.

Papal States

Further information:Papal States

Oval plan churches spread outside of Rome following Vignola's innovation with the church of Santa Anna dei Palafrenieri.Giovan Battista Aleottibuilt bothSanta Maria della Cellettain Argenta andSan Carlo Borromeoin Ferrara between 1609 and 1621.The oval plans synthesize longitudinal and central plan church layouts, allowing clear views of the altar from all points.

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.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.A copy based on plans provided by Borromini was built as the church ofMadonna del Pratoin Gubbio.

Borromini's masterpiece is the dome ofSant'Ivo alla Sapienza(1642–50), built for Pope Urban 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.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 Cortonato 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.

Sant'Andrea al Quirinalein Rome.

The oval plan church ofSant'Andrea al Quirinale(1658–61) byBerniniis 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.Bernini's Sant'Andrea al Quirinale is known as the oval Pantheon.

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 Fontanawith 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.

Kingdom of France

Further information:Kingdom of France

In Paris, the dome ofSt. Marie de la Visitationwas built byFrançois Mansartfrom 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 Lemercierafter having worked in Rome for seven years. It includes an inscription around the dome relating to theBourbonkings.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 effectfrom viewing the exterior dome from nearby on the ground. The inner shell is made of stone and the outer shell is made of wood.

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

In the Parisian church of Sainte-Anne-la-Royale (1662),Guarino Guarini,aTheatinemonk and mathematician, used interlacing bands or ribs reminiscent of Islamic domes atIznikorCordoba,or theChristian example at Torres Del Río.

Dutch Republic

Further information:Dutch Republic

The city ofMaastricht,jointly ruled byLiègeandBrabantsince the 13th century, was conquered byFrederik Hendrikin 1632, after which theStates Generalassumed the responsibilities of Brabant. Hendrik's court architect,Pieter Post,built a newMaastricht City Hallin 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.

The prosperity of theDutch Golden Agecoincided with a period of large church building in the Netherlands by theReformed Church,from the 1640s to the middle of the 1670s.A domed octagongarrison churchwas built atWillenstadbyMaurice, Prince of Orange,from 1597-1607.The brick octagonal church, twenty meters wide, was built at the center of the fortified town.TheCalvinistgovernment inLeidenbuilt theMarekerk,a domed octagonal preaching church, in the 1640s. The octagonal plan was associated with theDome of the Rock,thought to beSolomon's Temple.TheOostkerkinMiddelburgwas built from 1647-1667 with an octagonal dome and lantern.Begun in 1668, the LutheranRonde Lutherse Kerkwas built in aclassicist stylebut 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.

Kingdom of England

Further information:Kingdom of England

The church ofSt Stephen Walbrookin London was built by Christopher Wren from 1672 to 1677 and its dome has been called "the first classical dome in England".

Eighteenth century

Kingdom of Great Britain

Further information:Kingdom of Great Britain

St. Paul's Cathedralin London

London'sGreat Fire of 1666,following a devastatingoutbreak of plague in the citywhich killed a fifth of its population, spurred the commission ofChristopher Wrento 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.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.

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 smallerTempiettobyBramante.The use of the brick cone, in addition to other innovations, allowed the piers beneath the dome to be reduced in size.The thickness of the brick cone is 450 millimeters.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.Wren's structural system became the standard for large domes well into the 19th century.The iron chains used to encircle the 34-meter-wide dome have since been replaced bystainless steelgirdles.Damage to the outer timber truss dome during World War II resulted in the timber being replaced by reinforced concrete.

Although never very popular in domestic settings, domes were used in a number of 18th century homes built in theNeo-Classicalstyle, including the 1720sChiswick House,in West London.ThePalladianmansionPenicuik House,built bySir James Clerk,included astableblock with a domeddovecotebuilt as a faithful imitation of the destroyed ancient monumentArthur's O'on.The domed mausoleum byNicholas HawksmooratCastle Howardwas built in 1742 and is similar toBramante’s Tempietto.Robert Adamreferenced theRoman Pantheondome in his 1767 design ofLuton HooinBedfordshire.

ThePantheonon London'sOxford Streetwas designed byJames Wyattin 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.

Kingdom of France

Further information:Kingdom of France

Adjacent to a hospital and retirement home for injured war veterans, the royal chapel ofLes Invalidesin 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 Bonapartewas 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.

TheHalle aux blés,a circular wheat market in Paris, was completed in 1763 with a timber dome. It would be rebuilt in the nineteenth century in cast iron.

Kingdom of Ireland

Further information:Kingdom of Ireland

The IrishParliament House in Dublin,designed byEdward Lovett Pearceand 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 Pantheonand the octagonal dome overLord Burlington'sChiswick 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 Irelandin 1803.

Thomas Cooleydesigned theRoyal Exchangein Dublin with a central rotunda.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.

Assuming responsibility from the deceased Thomas Cooley, architectJames GandonbuiltThe Custom House(beginning in 1781), and theFour Courtsbuilding (assuming responsibility in 1784) along theRiver Liffeyin Dublin, with prominent central domes. HisKing's Innsbuilding (1795-1800) was delayed due to his having to leave the country during theIrish Rebellion of 1798.

Hapsburg Monarchy and the Holy Roman Empire

Further information:Habsburg MonarchyandHoly Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

Karlskirche,Vienna

Although theThirty Years' Wardelayed 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.Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlachstudied architecture in Rome before working in Austria. HisChurch of the Holy Trinity(begun 1694) inSalzburghas clear influences from Borromini in its use of the color white, accentuated windows, and the elliptical dome and oculus. The oval dome ofSt. Peter's ChurchinVienna(1702–33) is almost exactly the same, 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.

Guarini's plan for the church of S. Maria Ettinga in Prague inspired a group of buildings built in Bohemia between 1698 and 1710.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 Dientzenhoferto show Guarini's influence. His vaulting system of two transverse oval vaults that do not overlap at theChurch of Svatá Klará in Chebwas elaborated two years later in thegreat abbey church at Banz(1710–18). Banz, 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.

Domes by theAsam brothers,such as those ofWeingarten Abbey(1715–20) andWeltenburg Abbey(1716-21), blended fresco painting, stucco and, in the case of Weltenburg, indirect lighting to achieve their effects. Another set of brothers,Johann Baptist ZimmermannandDominikus Zimmermannof Bavaria, emphasized white stuccowork under direct lighting blended with fresco painting atSt. Peter and Paul Churchat Steinhausen (1728–31) andWieskircheat Weis (1745–54). InBohemiaandMoravia,Jan Santini Aichelblended styles in what has become known asbaroque Gothic,as can be seen in his crossing dome at theBenedictine MonasteryatKladruby(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 MonasteryinRajhrad(1722–24).

Appointed bythe King of Savoyas First Architect to the King in 1714,Filippo Juvarrabuilt theBasilica of Supergaat 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 circularentablatureabove eight columns instead.Its use of bulbous domes on the lantern and side towers was also unusual in Italy, where bulbous domes remained rare.The basilica was built as the official dynastic mausoleum of theHouse of Savoy,which had governedPiedmontand 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.

Sanctuary of Vicofortein Vicoforte, Italy.

The Sanctuary of Vicoforte'sovaldome, 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.Oval domes are also found in nearbyLiguria,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. The style of Piedmont spread to Vienna, where Italian architects built oval-plan churches and inspired the building of others.

Many decades after Guarino Guarini's buildings used them, the crossed-arch dome was revived byBernardo Vittonein projects such as theSanctuary of Valinotto(1738–39) and the Chapel of San Luigi Gonzaga.Vittone was familiar with Guarini's work and his dome over theChurch of San BernardinoinChieri(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.

German Baroque architecture resolved the tension between longitudinal and centralized spaces through the use of ovals. Examples include the domes ofJohann Michael Fischer's rotunda atMurnau(1725–27),Balthasar Neumann's Hofkirche atWürzburg Residence(1733) and Hofkapelle atWerneck(1733), andDominikus Zimmermann's churchat Steinhausen(1727–33).Neumann's more traditional longitudinal churches had domes over their crossings, such as his churches atMünsterschwarzach Abbey(1727–43),Gössweinstein(1730–39),Etwashausen(1733–45),Gaibach(1742-45), andNeresheim Abbey(1745–92).Neumann replaced barrel vaults in basilical plan churches with series of light intersecting elliptical domes.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 domed vault covering the staircase at the Würzburg Residence.It was built in a rural area of Bavaria as a pilgrimage church, as was theWieskirche,and both in the rococo style.

The two-shell dome ofSaint Blaise Abbeyin theBlack Forestby French architectPierre Michel d'Ixnard,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.The 15.4 meter wide center of the inner dome dates is a thin membrane structure that dates from 1910-1913.

Austrian monarchy

Further information:Habsburg_Monarchy § Austrian_monarchy

Because of the imprecision of oval domes in theRococoperiod, resting them on drums created problems and the domes instead often rested directly on arches or pendentives.The oval dome of theTrinity church in Bratislavawas 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'œiltechnique for which theBibiena familyis known. The dome of Santa Maria Assumpta (c. 1770) inSabbioneta,also designed by Bibiena, employs a more complex trompe-l'œil effect. A double dome, the inner dome is an openlatticeworkthrough which the outer dome can be seen, which is painted to appear to be a clear sky.

EmpressMaria Theresacommissioned theGardekircheas part of a relocated crown-sponsored hospital inViennaand 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.

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.

The dome of theBasilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua,was added to the 15th century church byFilippo Juvarrabetween 1733 and 1765.

Russian Empire

Further information:Russian Empire

During the reign ofCatherine the Great,Scottish architectCharles Camerondesigned thePavlovsk Palace(1781-1786) afterPalladio's Villa Rotonda.

Spanish Empire

The Church of the Compañía de Jesús in Quito, Ecuador.

Further information:Spanish EmpireandHistory of Spain (1700–1810)

Viceroyalty of New Spain

Further information:New Spain

The domes in Mexico are single shell constructions with few exceptions. Examples include theConvent of San Francisco,theTemple of San Fernando,andLa Santísima Church.Domes and lanterns are commonly covered with glazedtiles.

Kingdom of Sicily

Further information:Kingdom of Sicily § The two kingdoms under the House of Bourbon of Spain

The oval dome of theChurch of Santa ChiarainNoto,Sicily, was built byRosario Gagliardiand completed in 1753. It is afalse dome20.5 meters long and 13.2 meters wide and made of a series of parallel wooden arches hidden with planks andstuccoon 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 atNiscemiwas 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.

Viceroyalty of Peru

Further information:Viceroyalty of Peru

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 staircaseof theMercedarian main cloisterthat was rebuilt between 1759 and 1762.Other 18th century examples include the dome of the church of San Francisco inTrujillo(rebuilt after 1759) and the dome of thecamarínof thechurch of La Merced in Lima(1774).

Viceroyalty of New Granada

Further information:Viceroyalty of New Granada

InQuito,Ecuador,La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesúswas 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.

United States

Further information:United States

TheOld State Housein Dover, Delaware.

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 Houseor the smaller, and more typical, example over theOld State House of Delaware.Maryland State House inAnnapoliswas rebuilt in the 1770s with a pointed octagonal dome designed in 1772, the first over anAmerican state house.The dome was covered with copper sheeting.Annapolis served as the capital of the country for ten months beginning in 1783, during which timeGeorge Washington resigned his military commissionand Congress formally approved theTreaty of Paris,ending theAmerican Revolutionary War.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.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.The dome is similar to that ofthe Schlossturm in Karlsruhe, Germany.It is topped with an originallightning rodto Benjamin Franklin's design, supported by a surrounding copper and gold acorn and pedestal.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.

The design for the national capitol building approved byGeorge Washingtonincludeda dome modeled on the Pantheonbut the design was subsequently revised and construction did not begin until 1822.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.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).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.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.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.

Thomas Jefferson'sMonticello,begun in the 1770s, had the first dome to be built on an American home.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. Woodenpurlinsbraced the ribs in two horizontal rings. The dome was completed after 1796.The inspiration for Jefferson's dome seems to have been the similar octagonal dome atWrotham Parkdesigned 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.

See also

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

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