The Pantheon in Rome

Accept the former greatness of the Ancient Roman Empire to this day has not reached much, and those who have survived, can not boast of security. But in the center of modern Rome there is still one place, whose beautiful state allows one to question his so venerable age. It is about the brightest example of the architecture of Ancient Rome, the temple of all the gods - the Pantheon.

Pantheon in Rome - interesting facts

1. The buildings of the Pantheon were several: the first of them was rebuilt in the 1st century BC during the reign of Octavian Augustus by his son-in-law Mark Vispai Agrippa. Secondarily, the Pantheon was erected on the site of the first, destroyed by fire, in 126 AD under the emperor Adrian. The building was completely different from its predecessor, but it was not inferior to it in scale and grandeur. To the credit of Adrian it will be said that he did not take to himself the laurels of the builder of such a significant structure and left Agrippa on the pediment.
2. The pantheon has the shape of a rotunda, which is crowned with a huge dome. The usual windows in the Pantheon are absent, and it is illuminated by means of a huge through hole in the roof. This hole has a diameter of about 9 meters and is called the "operon." That the weather whims do not interfere with the building to perform its functions, in the floor of the Pantheon special drain holes are equipped. Once in the Pantheon at noon, you can see a column of sunlight passing through the opera.
3. In the Middle Ages, the building of the Pantheon, thanks to the thick 6-meter-high walls, became a real fortress, in order to become a temple again in calmer times.
4. The architecture of the Pantheon's dome is unique. Until now, it remains the largest dome in the world, built of reinforced concrete. In its construction, many techniques were used to help make the construction as light as possible. For example, the thickness of concrete to the top of the dome is reduced to 1 meter from the original 6 at its base, and in the vault special holes are made.
5. Initially, the dome of the Pantheon was richly trimmed. But in the 18th century, the gold plated copper plates from it were removed and sent to the remelting.
6. As the legend says, the ideal structure of the dome of the Pantheon helped Nikolai Copernicus finalize and calculate all aspects of the heliocentric theory of the structure of the universe.
7. Until the beginning of the 7th century the Pantheon honestly performed its functions of "the temple of all gods", glorifying all the ancient Greek gods immediately. The grandeur of the structure did not raise the hand to desecrate neither the numerous hordes of barbarians, nor the fanatical adherents of Christianity. Only in May 609 the Roman Pantheon was "re-qualified" in a Christian church, having received the name of the Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs.
8. The history of the day of All Saints, celebrated by all Catholics and Protestants in early November, is also associated with the Pantheon in Rome. Initially, this day was celebrated in May, the day of the consecration of the Pantheon, and only in the middle of the 8th century, when the chapel of St. Peter's Cathedral was consecrated in honor of all the saints, the holiday was moved to the beginning of November.
9. The construction of the Pantheon for its time was revolutionary, because it was the first Roman temple to which ordinary mortals could enter. Before that, all the rituals were held outside the temples, and only the priests had access to the interior.
10. Today anyone can get to the Pantheon, and you will not have to pay for a visit. In addition, inside the Pantheon you can take pictures and make videos, which can not boast of all the sights of Rome .

How to get to the Pantheon in Rome?

The Pantheon is located in the center of the capital of Italy, Rome, in Piazza del Rotonda, which can be reached by metro. To get to the temple of all the gods, you only need to get to the metro station "Barberini". You can also get there by walking a couple of blocks from another world famous monument of culture - Fontana Trevi .