Cupola, in architecture, small dome, often resembling an overturned cup, placed on a circular, polygonal, or square base or on small pillars or a glassed-in lantern. It is used to crown a turret, roof, or larger dome. The inner vault of a dome is also a cupola.
Cupolas, usually bulbous or pointed, first saw widespread use in Islāmic architecture in about the 8th century. They often topped minarets but were also built over the central space or on the corners of mosques as well as on domestic buildings in the Middle East and India.
From the Middle East the cupola design spread to Russia, where in the 17th and 18th centuries it gained great popularity in the form of the “onion dome,” which had the advantage of being decorative while not gathering snow during severe winters. The Moors brought the design to Spain, and Islāmic influence in the 17th century may be responsible for its introduction in Vienna, where it can be seen on many Baroque structures. Throughout Austria and Bavaria, onion domes top innumerable small churches.
Cupolas of various styles were integrated into English domestic architecture during the late 17th century and became part of U.S. architectural design during the post-Revolutionary Federalist era. Cupolas cap the small but elegant City Hall in New York City and the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Cupolas were popular in 19th-century U.S. domestic architecture, perhaps because they distinguish an otherwise undistinguished house. When placed atop posts or lanterns, they may also serve as lookouts or sources of light or air.