The Pantheon
Standing in the historic heart of the city, between Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon is one of Rome's emblematic monuments. This intact ancient Roman temple is not to be missed!
Closed 1 Jan. and 25 Dec.
Free under 18 and on the first Sunday of the month
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The temple as we know it today was built under the emperor Hadrian, between 118 and 125, on the site of an earlier temple erected by Agrippa and destroyed by fire. Dedicated to all the Roman gods, it was given by the Byzantine emperor Phocas to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a church in the year 609. It is this transformation that saved the Pantheon from destruction.
The Pantheon consists of an imposing portico 33 metres wide and 15.5 metres deep, supported by 16 monolithic granite columns. The pediment bears a dedication to Agrippa: M. Agrippa L. F. cos. tertium fecit (Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built it).
The rest of the Pantheon is formed of a round section supporting the famous dome of 43 metres in diameter — a diameter equal to the total height of the temple, a perfect harmony intended by its architects.
On entering the Pantheon, you pass through two bronze doors from antiquity, among the best preserved that exist.
The interior is impressive: the gigantic coffered dome is pierced at its summit by an oculus 8.9 metres in diameter, the building's only source of light. The dome, of exceptional size, served as a model for Michelangelo for that of St Peter's in Rome, without equalling its diameter. Several niches, framed by columns, run all around. They housed statues of gods in antiquity and today are converted into chapels, some of which contain tombs — those of kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, as well as of the painter Raphael.
The imposing dome is also clearly visible from several high points in the city, such as the terrace of the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II or the promenade of the Janiculum.
