The Pantheon, Rome Italy

Sunday, May 28, 2017
The magnificent Pantheon (A.D. 120) is the best-preserved temple from ancient Rome.
This stately building, about a 20-minute walk from the Forum, is the ideal remedy for a brain tired from mentally reconstructing the Colosseum or Forum.
The Pantheon survived so well because it's been in continuous use for more than 2,000 years. It went almost directly from being a pagan temple to being a Christian church.
Even if built to exalt the gods, the Pantheon is just as much a symbol of Roman human greatness. The massive, 40-foot granite columns that support its portico are so huge, it takes four tourists to hug one. Entering here (it's free), you feel the power and ambition that fueled the Empire.
Inside, you stand in a cavernous rotunda, a testament to Roman engineering. The subtle interior illumination is defined by the oculus, the opening at the top of the dome and the only source of light. (Once a year, on Pentecost Sunday, tens of thousands of rose petals flutter through this opening in the traditional "rain of red roses.")
The dome's dimensions are classic — based on a perfect circle, as wide as it is tall (140 feet) — and its construction is ingenious. It's made of poured concrete, which gets thinner and lighter with height — the highest part is made with pumice, an airy volcanic stone.
This was the largest dome anywhere until the Renaissance. Only then did Brunelleschi jump-start that new artistic era by borrowing some of Pantheon's features for his cathedral dome in Florence.
The wonder of ancient Rome is not how much of it has disappeared, but how much still exists. For nearly 2,000 years, the Colosseum, Forum, and Pantheon have been the iconic symbols of the Eternal City. After doing the Caesar Shuffle, you'll give an unreserved thumbs-up to Rome's enduring grandeur.Read more