Studies of Centralized Domed Churches
A central octagonal church in perspective surrounded by variant designs and a lobed ground plan
The sheet is filled with studies for centrally planned churches: a large domed building shown in perspective dominates the upper half, with a tall central dome flanked by lower semicircular apses and corner chapels. Around it Leonardo sketches several smaller variant elevations of domed, centralized structures, together with geometric quatrefoil and interlaced-lobe plan schemes. A large lobed ground plan with radiating chapels is drawn in the lower center. A few lines of mirror-writing appear at the lower left; this text is not included in the bundle and is not transcribed here.
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Central domed church in perspective
A centrally planned church rises on a stepped platform, its tall drum and dome crowned by a lantern. Semicircular apses project on the near sides and slender turrets stand at the corners, giving a compact, symmetrical mass.
Variant sketches of domed chapels
Smaller alternative elevations of centralized, domed structures are drawn in the margins on both sides of the main building. Each explores a different arrangement of the drum, corner turrets and apsidal projections.
Quatrefoil and interlace plan schemes
Several small geometric diagrams work out the underlying symmetry of the plans, based on overlapping circles and interlaced quatrefoil figures. They set out the modular grid on which the domed chapels are composed.
Lobed centralized ground plan
A large plan in the lower center shows a squarish core wrapped by an outer ring of lobed, semicircular chapels. A cluster of columned or niched cells is drawn at one corner, studying how the perimeter chapels connect to the central space.