Rome Pantheon

Agrippa's Pantheon is situated in Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon, meaning the "consecrated temple of all divinities", was built under the rule of the Emperor Adriano between 118 and 125 A.D. This has to be the monument which best represents Roman architecture. Here revolutionary elements were introduced, such as the combination of a round building, covered by a perfectly hemispherical dome, and a rectangular pronaos and colonnade more than 33 meters wide. Light enters through a hole right in the center of the dome of 9meters diameter.

The building has been preserved largely because it was transformed into the Church of St Maria ad Martyres during the transition from Pagan to Christian Rome. Vittorio Emanuele II, Umberto I, Margherita di Savoia and the painter Raffaello Sanzio are buried here. In the same area as the Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon, one can also visit the Churches of St Maria sopra Minerva, St Maria della Maddalena, St Luigi de'Francesi, St Ivo alla Sapienza and St Andrea della Valle.