Dome

View of the virgin Mary, above the main portal, frontal view looking up; Longhena's project was selected in 1631 by the senatorial commissioners (including the distinguished Scamozzi patron Procurator Girolamo Cornaro). The resulting domed church of S Maria della Salute, built at the junction of the Giudecca and Grand canals at the focal point of the city of Venice, occupied Longhena for more than 50 years and was consecrated after his death on 9 November 1687. Its governing concept--an octagonal space surrounded by an ambulatory--appeared in Italy in Early Christian and Byzantine architecture but also in the monumental sanctuary (1528-1561) by Diego de Siloe for Granada Cathedral in Spain, an engraving of which was produced in 1612-1614 by Francisco Heylan. Its sculptural exterior characterized by massive scrolls buttressing the dome, Longhena's Salute incorporates subtle scenographic effects and is one of the most important buildings of the early Italian Baroque. S Maria della Salute was imitated all over Europe. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/25/2008)