Pantheon

Upon walking into the Pantheon the circular shape and light shining down into the middle of the church drew the eyes upward to see the famous ceiling of the Pantheon. The sense of activity that surrounds the Pantheon all throughout the day makes the church feel like history is behind it. People come to Rome to explore and sightsee around to all the different historical buildings. When you see massive crowds around an object or building, with the name so famous, you get a sense that this church is special and has something about it that intrigues others. The exterior of the building is dated looking with pieces of marble missing, and cracked brick. Lying within the Pantheon is the tomb of Raphael body which provides significance and history to this church.
The name Pantheon, which is Greek, means “all the gods.” In 10 BC, a man named Agrippa built the Pantheon which was later burned down, not once but twice, and then finally rebuilt in 120 AD by Hadrian, which is the Pantheon that we see today. The Pantheon is so unique inside. The Pantheon actually has a dome inside and the dome holds up an opening which is not covered by glass. When it rains in Rome it rains into the Pantheon onto the marble floors. While visiting the Pantheon, I did notice some drains on the ground that will draw the rain down. The history of the ceiling in the Pantheon is rather interesting as well. At one point the dome was solid brick and concrete. However, the ceiling was way too heavy and could have collapsed so the builders had to cut squares into the individual blocks of concrete. The Pantheon is now taken care of by the popes so it does remain in extremely good shape. The Pantheon is used as a church to this day.


Publishing, DK. Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides). New York: DK Travel, 2003