Pantheon, Rome

The Pantheon in Rome was probably built as a temple for all gods. Hence his name, which is composed of the Greek pan (= "all") and théos (= "gods"). It was built on the field of Mars around 125 AD.

"The most beautiful vestige of Roman antiquity. A temple that has suffered so little that it seems to us just as the Romans must have seen it in their time," is how the French writer Stendhal described it in the 19th century. A 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 Roman monumental architecture.Its history began in 27 BC, when Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, son-in-law, friend and collaborator of Augustus, 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.

It is not so common for a Christian place of worship to be consecrated as the entire heaven of saints (All Saints Day). Usually it is one (or occasionally two) named saints who hold the patronage of a church - and thus usually also of the community or town in which it is located. The church festival "All Saints Day" is celebrated on November 1st.
A pagan custom can be seen as a model for this practice of dedication to all saints, according to which there were central temples in pre-Christian times that were dedicated to all deities (PANTHEON). Here in ROME is the most famous pantheon of all: formerly a pagan temple, now a Christian place of worship and at the same time one of the most popular tourist destinations in the "Eternal City" on the Tiber.