The Pantheon

The Pantheon is the best-preserved building of ancient Rome, and the oldest building in the world still covered by its original dome.

The dome and the oculus

The dome is a perfect hemisphere 43.3 metres across, exactly as wide as it is high, so a giant sphere would fit inside the building. At its centre is the oculus, an open "eye" about 9 metres wide and the only source of light. Yes, it's open to the sky: when it rains, water falls into the rotunda and drains through small holes in the marble floor. It remained the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world for nearly two thousand years.

A short history

• 27 BC: Marcus Agrippa, Augustus' general and son-in-law, builds the first Pantheon. His name is still carved on the portico: M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT.
• c. AD 118–125: after fires, Emperor Hadrian rebuilds it completely in its present form, generously keeping Agrippa's inscription.
• 609: the Byzantine emperor Phocas gives the building to Pope Boniface IV, who consecrates it as the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres. That's why it survived.
• Since 1870: the resting place of the first kings of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I (with Queen Margherita), and of the painter Raphael.

The name comes from the Greek pan ("all") and theos ("god"): a temple to all the gods.

Visiting

• Since 2023 there's a €5 ticket, free for under-18s and residents of Rome. Book online to skip the ticket line.
• Open daily 9:00–19:00 (last entry around 18:30). It's still a church, so dress respectfully.
• Come at midday on a sunny day to see the beam of light from the oculus move across the walls.
• At Pentecost, firefighters drop thousands of rose petals through the oculus during mass.
• Afterwards, have a coffee at Sant'Eustachio, two minutes away.