Pantheon, Rome

The Pantheon is an ancient 2nd century <a href="/facts/Roman_temple/9IzfwAMA">Roman temple</a> and, since AD 609, a <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic</a> church (<a href="/facts/Italian_language/YXsmvlQG">Italian</a>: Basilica Santa Maria ad Martyres or Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs) in <a href="/facts/Rome/bh1Ttx3T">Rome</a>, Italy. It is perhaps the most famous, and architecturally most influential, <a href="/facts/Rotunda_(architecture)/mcDdxVCu">rotunda</a>. 
The Pantheon was built on the site of an earlier temple, which had been commissioned by <a href="/facts/Marcus_Vipsanius_Agrippa/UJX1ds2P">Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa</a> during the reign of <a href="/facts/Augustus/RGfMCR2V">Augustus</a> (27 BC – AD 14). After the original burnt down, the present building was ordered by the emperor <a href="/facts/Hadrian/e1RoggvV">Hadrian</a> and probably dedicated c. AD 126. Its date of construction is uncertain, because Hadrian chose to re-inscribe the new temple with Agrippa's original date inscription from the older temple.
The building is round in plan, except for the <a href="/facts/Portico/9yF8G3F6">portico</a> with large granite <a href="/facts/Corinthian_order/2zCzPuH4">Corinthian</a> columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a <a href="/facts/Pediment/cUwQ9tbj">pediment</a>. A rectangular <a href="/facts/Vestibule_(architecture)/m5f8V9X0">vestibule</a> links the porch to the <a href="/facts/Rotunda_(architecture)/mcDdxVCu">rotunda</a>, which is under a <a href="/facts/Coffer/Tkw6oHCS">coffered</a> <a href="/facts/Concrete/K6whGVNx">concrete</a> <a href="/facts/Dome/vcv5uuXj">dome</a>, with a central opening (<a href="/facts/Oculus_(architecture)/k2VQ6CXd">oculus</a>) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43 metres (142 ft).
It is one of the best-preserved of all <a href="/facts/Ancient_Roman_architecture/1wtv6yFU">Ancient Roman buildings</a>, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history. Since the 7th century, it has been a <a href="/facts/Church_(building)/gtw3YSsd">church</a> dedicated to <a href="/facts/Mary_(mother_of_Jesus)/cq3fKofl">St. Mary</a> and the Martyrs (<a href="/facts/Latin_language/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>: Sancta Maria ad Martyres), known as "Santa Maria Rotonda". The square in front of the Pantheon is called <a href="/facts/Piazza_della_Rotonda/3UVpn6GW">Piazza della Rotonda</a>. The Pantheon is a state property, managed by Italy's <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Cultural_Heritage_and_Activities_and_Tourism_(Italy)/LYkUnu50">Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism</a> through the <a href="/facts/Polo_Museale_del_Lazio/Qf0j6mLH">Polo Museale del Lazio</a>. In 2013, it was visited by over six million people.
The Pantheon's large circular domed <a href="/facts/Cella/LDNC0NH3">cella</a>, with a conventional temple <a href="/facts/Portico/9yF8G3F6">portico</a> front, was unique in Roman architecture. Nevertheless, it became a standard exemplar when classical styles were revived, and has been copied many times by later architects.

Pantheon, Rome open-in-new

Pantheon, Rome