What to see at the Pantheon
The Pantheon as you have never seen it!
The Pantheon from the Greek Pan - all and Theon - gods, is a temple built in 27 B.C. in honour of all the gods, by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippason-in-law of the Emperor Augustus. In 80 BC due to a fire the structure was destroyed, only to be rebuilt again between 118 and 125 AD by the Roman emperor Hadrian.
In 609, Pope Boniface IV consecrated it as a Christian church dedicated to the worship of the Virgin and all the Martyred Saints, calling it the Church of Santa Maria ad Martyres. Because of its location, on the Piazza della Rotonda, Romans also call it the Church of the Rotunda.
Since 1870, it has housed the relics of the Kings of Italy, and of illustrious men who wrote important pages of Italian history and culture.
The Pantheon is located in Rome's historic centrein the lively piazzetta della Rotonda, a few steps from Piazza Navona, Palazzo Madama and Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza. Piazzetta della Rotonda, is easily reached with the help of bus number 40 (Borgo Sant'Angelo), terminating at Termini station. The city bus takes you as far as Via del Corso, where you have to get off at the Argentina stop, and then continue on foot in the direction of the Pantheon for another 400 metres.
What to see at the Pantheon? First of all, one must admire the peculiarities of the imposing architectural structure. This is characterised by a circular plan surmounted by a coffered dome of the same size (43.30 metres), at the top of which is theoculusa circular opening, nine metres wide, which illuminates the entire interior of the rotunda through the passage of sunlight.
Outside, the main façade, located on the small square, consists of a tympanum pronaos with an inscription, supported by sixteen granite columns with Corinthian order capitals, and a bronze entrance portal from Roman times.
Apart from the architectural structure, you may still wonder what to see at the Pantheon. This question is worthy of note, as the interior of the Rotunda is full of important relics. In fact, in the side walls of the church, there are circular and rectangular niches that house the remains of Italian painters Raffello Sanzio, Annibale Carraci, Giovanni da Udine, Perin del Vaga, Baldassare Peruzzi and Taddeo Zuccari; sculptor Flaminio Vacca; musician Arcangelo Corelli; Italian Kings Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy, Umberto I of Savoy and Queen Margherita of Savoy.
