In this paper analytical solutions for displacements and stresses in spherical shells over rectangular areas are developed. The analysis is based on spherical shallow shell equations, and solutions are obtained through the use of double Fourier series expressions to represent the displacement and loading terms. Three types of loading were considered: radial load, overturning moment and tangential shear. In order to test the results, an experiment and nite element investigation has been carried out to determine the state of stress in a spherical shell model and results are compared in graphs. The proposed solution is also applied to compute the local stresses around a support leg in a spherical shell, and results are compared with those obtained by the Bijlaard method used in American code ASME VIII, Part 2, and British code PD 5500:2000.