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The concave triangular sections of vaulting that provides the transition between a dome and the square base on which it is set and transfer the weight of the dome are called pendentives. A less sophisticated version of a pendentive is a squinch..

A dome can be considered as an arch which has been rotated around its vertical axis. As such, domes have a great deal of structural strength. They can be constructed of ordinary masonry, held together by friction and compressive forces.

A half-dome forms the head of an exedra or its smaller version, a niche. In Late Antiquity, the exedra developed into the apse, with separate developments in Romanesque and Byzantine practice.

1 Famous domes

Listed in order of their completion:

• the Pantheon in Rome;
• the domes and half-domes of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople;
• the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem;
• Filippo Brunelleschi's dome of the DuomoSanta Maria del Fiore (also known as the Duomo is Florence's cathedral, noted for its distinctive dome. Its name (which translates as "Saint Mary of the Flower") refers to the lily, symbol of Florence. The cathedral complex includes the Duomo, the baptist in Florence;
• BramanteDonato Bramante ( 1444 March 11, 1514), Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St. Peter's Basilica. Bramante was born in a very small place near Urbi's dome of the "Tempietto"Donato Bramante ( 1444 March 11, 1514), Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St. Peter's Basilica. Bramante was born in a very small place near Urbi in Rome;
• the dome of St. Peter's BasilicaPeter's Basilica ( Italian San Pietro in Vaticano is a Catholic major basilica in Vatican City, an enclave of Rome. This building is often described as the largest church ever built (it covers an area of 23,000 m² and has a capacity of over 60,000) and on in Rome;
• the Blue MosqueThe Sultan Ahmed Mosque (in Turkish Sultanahmet Camii in English commonly called the Blue Mosque is a mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1923. It is regarded as one of the greatest masterpiece in Istanbul;
• the Taj MahalThis article is about the Indian monument. For other uses, see Taj Mahal (disambiguation Taj Mahal is the name of a monument located in Agra, India. It was comissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal and took 23 in Agra;
• the dome of Les InvalidesLes Invalides in Paris, France consists of a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement now containing museums and monuments, all relating to France's military history, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's origi in Paris;
• Wren'sSir Christopher Wren ( October 20, 1632 February 25, 1723) was an English architect of the seventeenth century, famous for his role in the re-building of London's churches after the Great Fire of London of 1666. Life and Times Wren is particularly known f dome of St Paul's CathedralAlternative meanings: St Paul's Cathedral (Macau), St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is a cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London in London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century, in London;
• James Gibb 's dome at the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford;
• the steel-framed United States Capitol dome, Washington, DC;
• the Millennium Dome in London.