Pantheon, Rome

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IT IS! The Pantheon is fantastic building (my favourite in Rome) started out life as a Temple around the year 120. It is a Great domed hall with an ‘Oculus’. Guess that’s a fancy name for a hole in the middle of the roof. Yes, it has a fantastic drain system as rain does come straight in. So does sunshine. Do not leave Rome without visiting!

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“Walking around it today, it is still possible to experience something of the variety of architectural forms and settings, and the skillful way in which Hadrian and his architect have contrived the meetings of the axes, the surprises that await the turning of a corner, and the vistas that open to view.”
— from “History of Architecture” by Sir Banister Fletcher (1866-1953), he is talking about the Pantheon, the main historic attraction of Piazza della Rotonda

The large square that stretches out in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda ; but the grand and ancient monument dominates the square so fully that many Romans don’t know even the piazza’s name: they call it simply “square of the Pantheon.”

This piazza is the heart of the Centro Storico district of the city. With its active cafes, bars and restaurants, which encircle the square and its fountain, this piazza is a popular meeting place, for locals and tourists alike; the lively atmosphere continues into the night.

We not only have to thank Pope Gregory XIII for the calendar we use everyday, but also for the elegant, 16th-century, marble fountain, designed by Giacomo della Porta for this pope, that stands at the square’s center. The obelisk at the fountain’s center was found in the Iseo Campense and was placed here in 1711 on the order of Pope Clemens XI; the architect Filippo Barigioni decorated the obelisk’s pedestal with dolphins (see photo #4) and the coats of arms of Clement XI.

One of the city’s best hotels, Albergo del Senato, fronts onto this piazza (see von.otter’s Rome hotel tips for additional information and photos).

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This was built by Emperor Hadrian from AD118-28. It was built as a temple and then used as a church for the early Christians.

It is a massive place and is an engineering marvel. It has one of the world’s largest domes.

Step inside to see the intentional hole in the ceiling from where the sun shines in or rain pours in.

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This is the best preserved temple in Rome. It was built in 126 by Hadrian on the site of an older building originally built in 80 AD. Its original function was a temple to the most important of Roman Gods. Its great domed roof was a masterpiece of roman architecture. It was converted into a church in the 7th century, and retains that purpose to this day. Several artistic additions were added in later centuries.

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The Pantheon is thought to have been originally been built in honor of the seven Roman gods that lent their names to the first known planets. Located in the Piazza della Rotonda, Roman legend says this is the spot where, upon his death, Rome's founder, Romulus, was taken to the Gods by eagles. The structure was built between 27 and 25 BC by Consul Agrippa, the Prefect of the Emperor Augustus. After a fire destroyed the temple, Domitian rebuilt the Pantheon in 80 AD. Pantheon, which is Greek for "everything divine" or more commonly "Temple of All Gods" was turned into a church by Pope Boniface IV in 609 AD, giving it the name "Santa Maria ad Martyres". The original monuments to the Roman gods are long gone, now replaced by the tombs of seven prominent Italian figures. Kings Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, his queen, Margherita, painters Raphael and Annibale, composer Archangelo Corelli and architect Baldassare Peruzzi. The Pantheon is open Monday-Saturday from 8:30-19:30, Sundays 9:00-18:00 and Holidays 9:00-13:00. Masses are held Saturdays at 17:00 and Sundays at 10:30. Admission is free. One of the most historic buildings on Earth and a must see when visiting the Eternal City.

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“My intentions had been that this sanctuary of All Gods should reproduce the likeness of the terrestrial globe and of the stellar sphere.”
— Emperor Hadrian (AD 76-AD 138) his thoughts on the Pantheon

The main attraction in the Piazza della Rotonda is the Pantheon, from the Greek for ‘all the gods.’ It is our favorite building in the world.

Originally, the Pantheon was built in 25 BC by Marcus Agrippa, a Roman statesman and general. This building was destroyed by fire in AD 80. The bricks used by Emperor Hadrian to rebuild it are stamped with a date corresponding to AD 125. Hadrian paid tribute to Agrippa by having the latter’s named chiseled on the pediment of the portico (see photo #4).

The first Christian emperors closed the Pantheon, along with all other places of pagan worship, in the fourth century AD. In AD 609 the Byzantine Emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who consecrated it as the Church of Mary the Virgin and all the Martyr Saints. Because this antique pagan temple was turned into a Christian one explains why it is the most intact building to come down to us from the Ancient Romans.

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“Here lays Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome whilst he was living, and whilst he was dying, herself to die.”
— Raphael’s epigraph, written by Pietro Cardinal Bembo (1470-1547)

Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has served as a national necropolis. Among those buried there are the artists Raphael and Annibale Caracci, the architect Baldassare Peruzzi and the first two kings of a united Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto’s queen, Margherita.

The first to be buried there was Raphael (6.April.1483-6.April.1520), who rests in a sarcophagus (see photo #1) donated by Pope Gregory XVI. On 14.September.1833 the tomb was opened to inspect the moldering skeleton, of which drawings were made. Raphael’s tomb is the third chapel on the left.

The second chapel on the right holds the tomb of Padre della Patria (Father of the Nation), King Vittorio Emanuele II, who died in 1878 (see photo #2). The chapel was originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit.

Directly opposite his father is the tomb of King Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia (see photo #3). The chapel was originally dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. The royal tombs are maintained by the National Institute of Honor Guards to the Royal Tombs, founded in 1878.

In the second century AD, during the Age of the Antonine Emperors, which included Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, colored marbles were favored over the traditional white. In the Pantheon the seven niches, where the gods were worshipped, were marked by two large columns made of Numidian yellow marble, or of pavonazzetto, a breccia coming from Phrygia in modern-day Turkey. Breccia is a rock consisting of fragments of stone, such as marble or limestones, within a natural cement of a contrasting color. The veins of pavonazzetto had so many different colors that they brought to mind peacock feathers, hence this stone’s name, pavone is Latin for peacock.

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The Pantheon is definitely a place you should visit when in Rome. Entrance is free and the building has enough to offer to the hungry tourist eye :)

There are several tombs set inside the walls of The Pantheon. I really liked Raphael's tomb (on the left side as you enter the building). The tomb of Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of the unified Italy, is also here. You can also see the tomb of his successor, Umberto I and his wife, princess Margherita.

In the piazza outside The Pantheon there is a very nice fountain topped by an Egyptian obelisk. The base of the fountain and the obelisk were built by the orders of Pope Clement XI.