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Pantheon

2,000 Year Old Architectural Marvel

The Pantheon in Rome was built in 125 A.D. The world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, with a 43.3-meter diameter, allowing skylight to enter through its oculus, is an architectural marvel in human history. The Pantheon rotunda houses the tombs of Raphael and several Italian kings.

Built in 125 A.D., the Pantheon in Rome is nearly 2,000 years old, with a huge dome of 43.3 meters in diameter and no columns in rotunda below it, which is an Architectural Marvel in Human History.

The Oculus in the Center of the Dome provides ample natural skylight to the interior, and the circular beams of light visible to the naked eye are projected at different angles on the floor and walls as the sun rises and sets, casting different angles on every inch of the floor and walls, which reflect the genius of the architect.

The height of the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 meters, just enough to fit a sphere within its interior, which was once called “work of angles” by Michelangelo.

Manywhere Trivia:
Glass windows certainly did not exist in ancient Roman times, so the Pantheon remains an open-air design to this day. When it rains, the rainwater that leaks into the interior through the oculus runs down a hidden drain under the floor.

Originally a temple dedicated to the gods, the Pantheon was given to the Pope in 609 and turned into a Catholic church. The rotunda of the Pantheon has seven chambers and eight niches where the tombs of Renaissance Master Raphael and Italian kings such as Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I are placed.

The Front Portico of the Pantheon is supported by 16 Corinthian columns, and the triangular pediment at the top was once decorated with gilded bronze statues, which were unfortunately melted down for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The Pantheon's Facade was built with masonry and concrete materials, with many curved weight-reducing arches evenly distributed on the facade to relieve the pressure brought by the giant dome. The roof of the Pantheon, on the other hand, uses lighter materials, while the walls get thinner the closer to the oculus to reduce the overall weight of the dome.

Manywhere Trivia:
The Pantheon in Rome was a source of inspiration for countless later architects. The Pantheon in Paris, Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower in Florence are all inspired by the Pantheon. By the way, in 1436 the dome of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower in Florence surpassed the Pantheon dome in size for the first time.

On the north side of the Pantheon is a quadrangular square called Piazza della Rotonda, where many tourists and Roman citizens gather around the fountain every day, making it one of the liveliest city squares in Rome. The obelisk in the center of the fountain comes from ancient Egypt and was moved to this site after 1711.