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Pantheon

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Introduction
History
Location

ATTRACTIONS

What's to see

USEFUL INFORMATION

Useful information
Links

Introduction

The Pantheon, in Greek, meaning “Temple of all the Gods”) is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the state religion of Ancient Rome. The architectural form of the Pantheon, the largest and best preserved monument of Roman antiquity, is so simple that the structure has survived the hazards of the centuries almost intact. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been a Christian church.

History

In 27 b.C., Agrippa, son-in-law and architect of Augustus, erected the Pantheon on the site where according to legend is where the founder of Rome, Romulus, at his death was seized by an eagle and taken off into the skies with the Gods. The name comes from two Greek words pan, “everything” and teon “divine”.

In 80 A.D. Domitian rebuilt it after a fire; thirty years later it was hit by lightening and caught fire again. It was then rebuilt in its present shape by the Emperor Hadrian between 118 and 128 A.D. Under his reign, Rome reached its maximum splendour, and the present structure is probably the fruit of his eclectic genius and exotic tastes. In fact, the Pantheon combines a clearly Roman, cylindrical structure with the splendid outer colonnade of Greek inspiration. Although the new structure was very different to the original, Hadrian wanted a Latin inscription on the facade, that translated means “It was built by Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time”.

In 609 the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who reconsecrated it as a Christian church titled Santa Maria ad Martyres (or in English the Church of Mary and all the Martyr Saints). Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Caracci, the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. Pope Urban VIII (died 1644) ordered the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon's portico melted down. Most of the bronze was used to make bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant'Angelo, with the remaining amount used by the Apostolic Camera for various other works.

In 1747, the broad frieze below the dome with its false windows was “restored”, but bore little resemblance to the original. In the early decades of the twentieth century, a piece of the original reconstructed from Renaissance drawings and paintings, was recreated in one of the panels. The Pantheon is still a church and masses are still celebrated, particularly on important Catholic days of obligation, and for weddings.

Location

Address: Piazza della Rotonda, I-00186 Rome, Italy.
Transit: Metro: Bus: 70, 81, 86, 87, 90, 64, 119, 170

What's to see

From the Piazza della Rotonda from which the Pantheon is seen hemmed in by buildings and the semicircular dome appears much flatter than it really is, steps lead down into the porch: formerly there were steps up to the entrance, but the ground level has risen considerably since then. he porch, 33m/108ft wide and 13.50m/44ft high, has 16 granite columns with Corinthian capitals (12.5m/41ft high, 4.5m/15ft apart) and two massive ancient bronze doors. The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. Though often still drawn as a free-standing building, there was a library building at its rear into which it abutted; of this building there are only archaeological remains.

The overwhelming effect of the interior results from the harmonious proportions of the whole vast structure: the height is the same as the diameter (43.2m/142ft), while the walls of the cylinder supporting the dome measure half the diameter (21.6m/71ft). The restrained decoration of the interior enhances the effect of the architecture. The harmony and perfect proportions of the Pantheon - built in the image of the earth with the vault of the firmament above it - have impressed artists and visitors down the centuries. (The magnificent acoustics will be demonstrated by an organist for a small donation.)

The Pantheon is the place of burial of the Italian kings (Victor Emmanuel II, second niche on right; Umberto I, second niche on left); the greatest Cardinal Secretary of State of modern times, Consalvi (tomb by Thorvaldsen, 1824, third niche on left) and the great Renaissance painter Raphael (between second and third niches on left) are also buried here.

Useful information

Telephone: 06/68300230
Open: Monday to Sunday 8:30 to 19:30
Closed: August 15, December 25 and December 26
Cost: Free
Accessibility: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.

Links

The Pantheon by wikipedia

Guided tour through the Pantheon on your iPod

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