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Rounded arches, vaults, and domes distinguish Roman architecture from that of Ancient Greece and were facilitated by the use of concrete and brick. [1] By varying the weight of the aggregate material in the concrete, the weight of the concrete could be altered, allowing lighter layers to be laid at the top of concrete domes.
One of the great breakthroughs in the history of Western architecture occurred when Justinian's architects invented a complex system providing for a smooth transition from a square plan of the church to a circular dome (or domes) by means of pendentives.
An oculus (from Latin oculus 'eye'; pl.: oculi) is a circular opening in the center of a dome or in a wall. Originating in classical architecture, it is a feature of Byzantine and Neoclassical architecture. A horizontal oculus in the center of a dome is also called opaion (from Ancient Greek ὀπαῖον '(smoke) hole'; pl.: opaia).
Resting domes on circular or polygonal drums pierced with windows eventually became the standard style, with regional characteristics. [147] In the Byzantine period, domes were normally hemispherical and had, with occasional exceptions, windowed drums.
Typical early Christian Byzantine apse with a hemispherical semi-dome in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe Typical floor plan of a cathedral, with the apse shaded. In architecture, an apse (pl.: apses; from Latin absis, 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek ἀψίς, apsis, 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; pl.: apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi ...
In the design of many churches the Byzantine arrangement of tented roof or onion dome is replaced with a larger dome, usually on a tall, often polygonal, tambour. Many European cathedrals have baroque features, high altars, façades and chapels.
The Greek cross and domes of Byzantine architecture were found in areas of Byzantine cultural influence. [66] The earliest existing large French dome is believed to be the pendentive dome built by 1075 over the crossing of the Collegiate Church of St-Martin at Angers [ fr ] .
Early wooden domes are known only from a literary source, but the use of wooden formwork, concrete, and unskilled labor enabled domes of monumental size in the late Republic and e