Pantheon

Hadrian, Emperor of Rome (Roman patron, 76-138 CE)

Heliog J. Chauvet

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Regione IX Circus Flaminius

Piazza della Rotunda

54.3754

Italy

27 BCE-128 CE (creation)

1st century BCE

1st century CE

2nd century CE

current elevation, elevations

Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa (that building destroyed, but referenced in the inscription), and completely rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian ca. 118-125 CE. 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 of 8.15 m diameter) 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). It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since 609, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs (Santa Maria ad Martyres) but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda."

Architectural Documentation

temples

religious buildings

elevations

Imperial (Roman)

Roman

architecture

death or burial

funerary art

rulers and leaders

Roman Empire

Seure, Georges. Monuments antiques, relevés et restaurés par les architectes pensionnaires de l’Académie de France à Rome

notices archéologiques par Georges Seure. Paris: C. Massin, 1910, 135.

Public Domain