Dating back to the early 2nd century when it was used as a temple of worship to the pagan gods of ancient Rome, the Pantheon has served as a Christian church since the 7th century.
Dating back to the early 2nd century when it was used as a temple of worship to the pagan gods of ancient Rome, the Pantheon has served as a Christian church since the 7th century. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns 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. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).
The Roman Pantheon is the best preserved building of ancient Rome. Completed between A.D. 118 and 125, the Pantheon is a Roman temple originally dedicated to Roman Commander Marcus Agrippa and was used for worship of all the gods of pagan Rome. The Pantheon exists today in its well-preserved state because the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave it to Pope Boniface the VIII in A.D 608 and it has been used as a Christian church ever since. Nevertheless, nearly all of the bronze that once adorned the Pantheon was stripped from the building and used for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. The Italian kings Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I as well as the famous Renaissance painter Raphael and his fiancée are buried in the Pantheon.
