The High Altar-The Pantheon
The name Pantheon is a Greek adjective meaning "honor all gods" which refers to the building's original function as a temple for all the gods. The temple was converted into a church in 609 AD and today it's dedicated to St. Mary of the Martyrs. It was the largest dome in the world (over 43 meters-141 feet) until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed.
Before the current Pantheon was built, two other buildings occupied the same site but both burned down. The right hand man of Emperor Augustus, Agrippa, built the first Pantheon in 27 B.C. but it burned in the Great Fire of 80 AD. It was rebuilt by Emperor Domitian but it was struck by lightning in 110 AD. In 118 AD Emperor Hadrian ordered for the Pantheon to be rebuilt again but this time in a totally different, circular design. He designed it with a famous Greek architect but the architect was executed by the Emperor because of an argument about the design of the temple. It was completed seven years later, in 125 AD.
The Pantheon contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael Santi and two of Italy's kings-Vittorio Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy and the man who united Italy, and Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel’s successor. Above Raphael’s tomb is a sculpture of the Madonna del Sasso created by Raphael’s student Lorenzetto. There are also tombs of painter Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi.
Four of the remaining recesses are chapels dedicated to St Joseph, the Madonna of Clemency, the crucifixion, and the annunciation. Each of them is beautifully decorated with fine Renaissance art - frescoes, paintings and sculptures. Chapel of St. Joseph of the Holy Land. The marble floor - which features a design consisting of a series of geometric patterns - is still the ancient Roman original.
The High Altar-The Pantheon
The name Pantheon is a Greek adjective meaning "honor all gods" which refers to the building's original function as a temple for all the gods. The temple was converted into a church in 609 AD and today it's dedicated to St. Mary of the Martyrs. It was the largest dome in the world (over 43 meters-141 feet) until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed.
Before the current Pantheon was built, two other buildings occupied the same site but both burned down. The right hand man of Emperor Augustus, Agrippa, built the first Pantheon in 27 B.C. but it burned in the Great Fire of 80 AD. It was rebuilt by Emperor Domitian but it was struck by lightning in 110 AD. In 118 AD Emperor Hadrian ordered for the Pantheon to be rebuilt again but this time in a totally different, circular design. He designed it with a famous Greek architect but the architect was executed by the Emperor because of an argument about the design of the temple. It was completed seven years later, in 125 AD.
The Pantheon contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael Santi and two of Italy's kings-Vittorio Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy and the man who united Italy, and Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel’s successor. Above Raphael’s tomb is a sculpture of the Madonna del Sasso created by Raphael’s student Lorenzetto. There are also tombs of painter Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi.
Four of the remaining recesses are chapels dedicated to St Joseph, the Madonna of Clemency, the crucifixion, and the annunciation. Each of them is beautifully decorated with fine Renaissance art - frescoes, paintings and sculptures. Chapel of St. Joseph of the Holy Land. The marble floor - which features a design consisting of a series of geometric patterns - is still the ancient Roman original.