Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
8:30am-7:30pm, last entrance 6:30pm),
like rarely seen terra-cotta models that
Bernini used as trials before digging into real marble. But the reason to visit this
museum is more recent history: to see the offices of Benito Mussolini and gaze
out from the famous balcony over Piazza Venezia below (on the eastern side past
the temporary exhibit space). The view from here will give you an idea of what
the dictator saw as he addressed the crowds. The postcard view of the Colosseum
stands at the foot of the Via dei Fori Imperiali.
The Pantheon
For many residents of Rome, the area between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon
is for lingering and strolling, especially on Sundays in the fall and early spring,
when everyone in the city, it seems, is here.
The Pantheon
555
(Piazza della Rotonda; free admission; Mon-Sat
8:30am-7:30pm, Sun 9am-6pm, holidays 9am-1pm)
is like an enormous elephant
hiding in the middle of a crowded village. The structure is the best-preserved
antiquity in the entire city, and holds an allure that is almost magical, especially
if you happen to visit when it is raining and the drops form a cylinder from the
opening in the dome to the marble drains below. Built under Hadrian's direction
(many of the structure's bricks contain the emperor's seal) between
A
.
D
. 119 and
128, the Pantheon was a temple to 12 gods. It was saved from ruin only because
the Catholic Church claimed it in 608, even though the Church used it primarily
as a quarry for materials for other churches. It is an arguable theory that the
Pantheon's once-bronze dome was removed and melted down by Bernini in 1626
to make the
baldacchino,
or canopy, in St. Peter's Basilica.
The best way to appreciate the Pantheon is first from across the piazza on
which it sits, gazing at the sheer magnitude of the massive pillars and domed roof.
As you walk closer to the building, the detail of the pillars (which do not match)
becomes apparent. Many of these massive granite pillars have been replaced over
the Pantheon's 2,000-year history, and you may notice the notches on which veg-
etable market stalls were affixed until the 18th century.
Once inside the massive doors, look up at the 9m (30-ft.) oculus, which is
believed to be there to allow worshipers direct contact with the heavens. It is the
only source of light in the building, and the sunbeam acts as a spotlight on various
points around the building. The Emperor Hadrian would only enter the building
when the sun shone on the door, around 11am, depending on the time of year.
The diameter of the dome is 44m (146 ft.), and the dome itself gets lighter
and thinner toward the top, decreasing from 7m (23-ft.) thickness at the edges to
a thin 1m (3
1
⁄
4
ft.) close to the apex. It would take a professional to notice, but the
materials used to build the dome vary from a heavy concrete and travertine on the
lower third of the dome, volcanic tufa in the middle section, and lightweight
pumice in the upper reaches.
The dome's structure was unsurpassed in terms of size and architectural
accomplishment until the 1500s, when other domes were built. The seven niches,
which are now tombs of kings and artists (Raphael is buried in the glass-encased
tomb), once held statues of gods and goddesses.
The Pantheon is a great place to sit on one of the wooden benches along the
perimeter. In the summer it can be quite crowded during the day, but it is invari-
ably empty when it opens at 8:30am.
