SECRETS OF THE ANCIENT MONUMENT THE PANTHEON

and it was Augustus’ son-in-law, Marco Vespasiano Agrippa, who wanted to dedicate a temple to all the deities, entrusting the task of the construction to Lucio Cocceio Aucto. However, the original temple was damaged by two successive fires, so the emperor Hadrian had it restored, between 120 and 124 AD. From the remains found during archaeological excavations at the end of the 1800s, we know that the original building from the Augustan age had a rectangular plan, made of travertine blocks covered with marble slabs, with bronze capitals and caryatids and statues on the pediment.

Everyone knows it by name. Everyone knows that it is one of the monuments that any tourist passing through the capital should go and visit. We are talking about the Pantheon, which embodies a long and varied history, mostly because its function has changed over the centuries starting from its origins, and also told by its name: a temple from the Roman age, which was dedicated to all the gods (from the Greek words pas, all, and theos, god). So here’s everything you need to know about this wonderful monument, a truly not to be missed if you find yourself passing through the heart of the historic center of Rome.

How It All Started

Today the Pantheon is located in the historic center, in the ancient Pigna district, but when it was founded it was 27 BC,

The structure of the reconstruction carried out in Hadrian’s time is instead circular in shape, the one we still know and admire today, together with a portico of Corinthian columns that support the triangular pediment. The inscription that we can still read today is the original one of the building: “M. AGRIPPA L.F. COS. TERTIUM FECIT”, or “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built”. One of the most interesting features of the structure is the large circular cell, called “rotunda”, which has eight large pylons that must support the large hemispherical dome, which represents the celestial vault, home to all the gods to whom the temple was dedicated. At the center of the dome is the famous circular opening (the so-called “oculus”) which allows the interior to be illuminated. Even today, and despite the almost two thousand years that counts, this is one of the largest domes in the world, especially counting that it is built in non-reinforced concrete. One of the most famous curiosities of the monument is the fact that the rain does not seem to enter through the hole in the ceiling: this happens because an updraft forms inside the oculus which disrupts the raindrops before they fall inside the temple. Thus, even when it is pouring outside, inside the Pantheon one has the impression of being dry, despite the hole in the ceiling.

Its Next Purpose

Fortunately, the Pantheon was saved from the destruction of Roman monuments during the Middle Ages, because in 609 it was transformed by Pope Boniface IV into a Christian church, with the name of Sancta Maria ad Martyres, a name that comes from the presence of the relics of several Christian martyrs who were taken to the basement of the ancient Roman temple. It was the first pagan temple to become a Christian church. For this reason, it is the only Roman building which has remained intact and which has continued to have a religious function from its foundation to today. Starting from the Renaissance, among other things, several important artists were buried inside the Pantheon, including Raffaello Sanzio and Annibale Carracci. In addition, several royals rest there, for example Vittorio Emanuele II, his son Umberto I and Queen Margherita.

Curiosities And Surprises

The Pantheon, as the only monument of Roman times that has remained intact, has influenced many other monuments in every era. In particular, one architect who was particularly impressed by the Pantheon’s structure was Andrea Palladio. To date, many monuments in Italy and abroad echo the architecture of this ancient temple. Just think of the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola in Naples, the Cisternone in Livorno, or the Mausoleum of Bela Rosin in Turin. But also at the famous Thomas Jefferson rotunda at the University of Virginia, or at the Columbia University library in New York.

It is no coincidence that the square in which it is located is called “Piazza della Rotonda”; in fact, the Rotonda, or Rotonna, in Roman dialect, is precisely the name with which the inhabitants of Rome have always called the Pantheon. Admission is free and can be visited every day from 9.00 to 19.00, with the last entry at 18.30. Attention, because reservations are required on Saturdays and public holidays. You can also book a visit with an audio guide, or a group guided tour. Optionally, if for some reason you have not been able to visit the monument in person, or if you want to visit it with help of your smartphone, you can also download a specific app, created in collaboration with the Chapter of Santa Maria ad Martyres, to visit the Pantheon virtually.

It is available on Google Play and the App Store, and will let you know the history, secrets and lots of useful information.