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Incredible. The rome pantheon was built AD 200. And still standing. Inside 43 meters high. Incredible.
Of all ancient Rome's great buildings, only the Pantheon (All the Gods) remains intact. It was built in 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa and was reconstructed by Hadrian in the early 2nd century A.D. This remarkable building, 43m (142 ft.) wide and 43m (142 ft.) high (a perfect sphere resting in a cylinder) and once ringed with white marble statues of Roman gods in its niches, is among the architectural wonders of the world because of its dome and its concept of space.
Animals were sacrificed and burned in the center, and the smoke escaped through the only means of light, the oculus, an opening at the top 5.4m (18 ft.) in diameter.
The walls are 7.5m (25 ft.) thick, and the bronze doors weigh 20 tons each. About 125 years ago, Raphael's tomb was discovered here (fans still bring him flowers). Vittorio Emanuele II, king of Italy, and his successor, Umberto I, are interred here as well.
The Roman Pantheon is the most preserved and influential building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. As the brick stamps on the side of the building reveal it was built and dedicated between A.D 118 and 125.
The emperor Hadrian built the Pantheon to replace Augustus’ friend and Commander Marcus Agrippa’s Pantheon of 27 B.C. which burnt to the ground in 80 A.D.
When approaching the front of the Pantheon one can see the inscription above still reads in Latin the original dedication by Marcus Agrippa. The inscription reads:
"M. AGRIPPA.L.F.COSTERTIUM.FECIT”
“Marcus Agrippa son of Lucius, having been consul three times made it”.
The original use of the Pantheon is somewhat unknown, except that is was classified as a temple.
The Pantheon exists today in such amazing form because the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave it to Pope Boniface the VIII in A.D 608 and it was used as a church ever since. The Pantheon has been in use since the time it was built.
We actually attended a Sunday service inside this amazing building an although the Mass was said in Italian (we do not speak) it was beautiful.
Oddly, ine of my favorite spots in Rome. In a city so rich with history, I am not sure why this building so just so impressive to me.
The 'oculus': Scientists believe that the 2,000-year-old Pantheon in Rome acts as a giant sundial, but a new study claims that the purpose of the 30ft-wide hole in its roof was to direct a beam of light to illuminate the entrance at the exact moment the emperor entered the dome.
Experts found that the hole allows a single shaft of sunlight to illuminate the interior during the March and September equinox as well as on April 21 – the date Rome is said to have been founded. The emperor would have been bathed by the sun’s rays as he entered the building on these auspicious occasions.