Pantheon
After we settled in our hotel, we did a sight-seeing tour with some friends and found the Pantheon. Hidden behind the facades of this masterful building is the oldest and largest Dome or Coppola of the world
The Pantheon was built with ancient Cement, which was a Roman invention 2000+ years ago
My favorite and most beautiful ancient building in Rome is the Pantheon, a place where European history is mirrored with no other. Standing in the middle, hearing my echo, I can feel the greatness of the architecture. Measured by its inside diameter, it has the largest dome in the world, and is generally valid as one of the best preserved buildings of Roman antiquity.
The Pantheon was was declared sacred, and now a Roman Catholic church. The official Italian name is Santa Maria ad Martyres (Latin Sancta Maria ad Martyres). This building in Rome is colloquially referred to as La Rotonda.
The building of the Pantheon begun under Emperor Trajan around 114 AD, and was completed under Emperor Hadrian between 125 AD and 128 AD, had for more than 1700 years
The Pantheon consists of two main elements: a Pronaos with a rectangular layout and a temple façade in the North, and a circular, domed central building in the South. A transition area mediates between the two parts of the building, the resulting gussets of the interfaces were used for stairwells. Miraculously, the structure has survived many devastations and some earthquakes.
On May 13, about the year 609, the Pantheon was converted into a Christian church and dedicated to St. Mary and all Christian martyrs. Inside are religious celebrations, especially on high holidays.
Built on the Campus Martius, the Pantheon was probably a sanctuary dedicated to all the Gods of Rome. The historian Cassius Dio reports that there were statues of Mars and Venus and other Gods like Divus Iulius. Which Gods should be revered here, however, is controversial, especially since it is not completely clear whether the Pantheon of its original definition was a temple. Maybe it was an imperial representative building, we don’t know.
On May 13, about the year 609, the Pantheon was converted into a Christian church and dedicated to St. Mary and all Christian martyrs. Inside are religious celebrations, especially on high holidays.
The influence of the Pantheon on the history of architecture especially in modern times is enormous. The term Pantheon today is also applied to a building in which important personalities are buried.
When famous Michelangelo visited the Pantheon the first time, he said: This wonder of Architecture is impossible to be built by human hands, but by Angels instead
We walked around the block and found a darling Restaurant. There we ate a Frutti di Mare in Sherry Wine sauce, a recipe I recreated at home