The unenforced ones can last.
Pantheon, Rome
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Not to be confused with The Parthenon or Panthéon, Paris.
For other uses, see Pantheon (disambiguation).
Pantheon Location Built in Built by/for Type of structure Related articles The Pantheon ( / ' p æ n ? i? ? n / or US / ' p æ n ? i? ? n /; [1] Latin: Pantheon, [nb 1] from Greek: ????e??? (?e???), an adjective meaning "(temple consecrated) to all gods") is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. [2]
The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening ( oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. [3] The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft). [4]
It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria della Rotonda." [5] The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. |
