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| Flights to Rome Italy Home » Tourist Attractions in Rome » Tourist Attractions in Rome City» Pantheon
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Pantheon |
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Pantheon is one of the most outstanding examples of Roman architecture which has endured the pillage, violation and intrusion of 2000 years. The origin structure of Pantheon was a temple constructed in 27-25 B.C by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa who was the son-in-law of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus and though the identity of the architect of the Pantheon is still unknown, Apollodorus of Damascus is mainly held as the chief architect. But if you now go to the Pantheon, you'll see an entirely different structure of the Pantheon. Hadrian reconstructed the Pantheon between 118 A.D and 125 A.D which is evident from the stamp in the building carrying the maker's name. The entrance is the only part that remains of the original temple built by Agrippa. The meaning of Pantheon in Greek is "to honor all Gods". Pantheon, the resting place of famous painters Rafael, Annibale Caracci, and Baldassare Peruzzi, the popular architect, was originally built for worshipping seven gods of seven planets was destructed in a massive fire in 80 A.D.
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Phocas, the Byzantine Emperor handed Pantheon over to Pope Boniface IV in about 609 who sanctified Pantheon once again as a Christian Church which was called Santa Maria and Martyrs. Due to this consecration, Pantheon was protected for invasion and desertion in the earlier period of medieval era. Constantine II, the Byzantine Emperor invaded Pantheon during his visit to Rome in the month of July in 663 A.D.
Pantheon is a circular building with a porch having three steps of tall Corinthian columns of granite under a gable which opens into the large circular room under a caisson dome with an opening, the Great Eye, at the centre. At the back of the entrance, are places for possibly keeping the statues of Augustus, Agrippa and Caesar or for other gods or the Capitoline Triad. The formerly gold plated bronze doors to the inner chamber are still there, but without the gold. The huge 4,535 metric ton weighing dome of Pantheon is 142 feet or 43.30 meters in diameter and the central opening is about 7.8 meters in diameter. The domed crypt of the heavens is shown in the architecture of the interior of the roof. The huge 39 feet high columns which support the doorway weigh about 60 tons and have the diameter of about 5 feet. The lacunae of Pantheon formerly enclosed star ornaments of bronze.
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