Pantheon

The largest and best preserved dome building of antiquity.

"The most beautiful vestige of Roman antiquity. A temple that has suffered so little that it seems to us as the Romans should have seen it in their time", this is how the French writer Stendhal described it in the 19th century. Source of inspiration for the greatest architects of all times and always admired for its beauty, the harmony of its lines and the perfect calculation of the geometry of its masses, the Pantheon is in fact one of the best preserved examples of monumental architecture Roman.
Its history began in 27 BC, when Marco Vipsanio Agrippa, Augustus' son-in-law, friend and collaborator, had a first temple dedicated to "all the gods" built in this area. Its current form, however, is due to Hadrian, who had it rebuilt between 118 and 125 AD, enlarging it, reversing its orientation and opening a large porticoed plaza in front of the new temple.

The Pantheon (meaning "temple of every god") is a former Roman temple, now a church, in Rome, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). The present building was completed by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated about 126 AD. He retained Agrippa's original inscription, which has confused its date of construction as the original Pantheon burnt down so it is not certain when the present one was built.
The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening to the sky. Almost 2000 years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome with its height of 43.3 metres (142 ft) taht is the same of the diameter of the interior circle.

The Pantheon (ancient Greek Πάνθειον (ἱερόν) or even Πάνθεον, of πᾶν pân "everything" and θεός theós "God") is an ancient church re-consecrated in Rome. As a Roman Catholic church, the official Italian name is Santa Maria ad Martyres (Latin Sancta Maria ad Martyres).

After a common name since the Middle Ages Sancta Maria Rotunda, the building in Rome is colloquially referred to as La Rotonda.

The Pantheon, which may have already begun under Emperor Trajan around 114 AD and was completed by Emperor Hadrian between 125 AD and 128 AD, had the largest dome in the world for more than 1700 years, measured on the inside diameter, and is generally valid as one of the best preserved buildings of Roman antiquity. The Pantheon consists of two main elements: a pronaos with a rectangular layout and a temple façade in the north, and a circular, domed central building in the south. A transition area mediates between both parts of the building, the resulting gussets of the interfaces were used for stairwells.

Source: Wikipedia

Admission is free, as of Dec 2017

Another really impressive 43 meter tall building
Opening times:
Monday 8:30 am - 7:15 pm
Tuesday 8:30 am to 7:15 pm
Wednesday 08: 30-19: 15
Thursday 08: 30-19: 15
Friday 8:30 am - 7:15 pm
Saturday 08: 30-19: 15
Sunday 09: 00-17: 45

A tip for all tourists in Rome. Unfortunately, we were traveling during the pandemic, so there was limited admission and a huge, never-ending line formed that denied us our visit.

Pay attention to the sunlight ...

The great painter Raffael is buried here alongside many others.

True, depending on the position of the sun, the interior is illuminated. :-)

Pantheon

opera to visit if you are in rome

A must see highlight in Rome.