Italian religious architecture of the late Cinquecento is marked by an innovative interpretation of the canon of the central plan that generates a new type of Baroque church: the elongated central space. By building oval churches covered with oval domes, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola (1507-1573) introduced a new pattern into the architectural shape grammar. The geometry of the oval figure gracefully combines the theoretical concept of cosmic centrality and the pragmatic necessities of liturgical linearity. However it raises a number of design problems for which architects devised various and inventive solutions. The comparison of various churches dating back to no later than the end of the Seicento, highlights the diversity of all the projects. Although every church is unique in its layout, design, features and decoration, all oval churches propose similar challenges to their designer, the most important of which are the choice of the geometrical pattern, the dome, and the façade. Keywords Oval churches Á Italian baroque Á Religious architecture Á Central space Introduction: the Concept of Centrality Sacred architecture of the Italian Renaissance is marked by the dissemination of a special kind of building: the centrally planned church. The morphological features of the centrally planned church are quite simple and therefore recognizable. They differ from other models such as the basilica type or Latin cross type in the sense that the inner space does not expand longitudinally but & Sylvie Duvernoy