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Pantheon, Rome, Italy. In the busy streets stands one of the greatest architectural wonders from ancient Roman history - The Pantheon. Its magnificent design is a lasting testimony to the genius of Roman architects and it stands virtually intact nearly 1800 years after it was constructed. The true purpose of Pantheon’s remains mystery. The word “Pantheon” translates to “all Gods” so It’s believed that it was originally built as a temple to all Roman gods. Pantheon consists of two principal parts - the porch, which is very Classical Greek in presentation, and the circular main building, rotunda, which is much more Roman in style Writing In the front side of the Pantheon translates from latin “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, having been consul three times, made it”. The bronze doors of the Pantheon are over 6m high. Rotunda, built with brick and concrete was originally faced with white marble to match the porch in appearance. The walls of the rotunda are 6 metres thick and to support it’s enormous weight, relieving arches were built into. The most fascinating part of the Pantheon is its giant dome. With a diameter of 43 meters the dome was the largest in the world and nearly 2000 years later it still remains the largest unsupported dome in the world! On the top of the dome there’s a famous hole - the oculus, meaning “eye” in latin. The oculus distributes the weight of dome and is the only natural source of light in the interior. The Pantheon was built for wonder and prestige. When Michelangelo first saw the Pantheon in the early 15th century, he proclaimed it of “angelic and not human design.” Even today It’s mathematical design and simple geometry still impresses architects and viewers around the world.
