23/02/2021
Pantheon - this large cylindrical building has been a Christian church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs since the 7th century, yet it was originally a Roman Temple of all the gods from the time of Augustus, two thousand years ago and has been in continuous use since. It is the best preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings and has enormously influenced Western architecture to be seen in examples such as the Thomas Jefferson library at University of Virginia and Belle Isle House on Lake Windermere in England. Many 19th and 20th century government and public buildings, city halls, universities, and public libraries bear a resemblance to the portico and dome form of the Pantheon. The whole structure is immensely impressive, the Portico has 16 monolithic granite columns topped with Corinthian style capitals that leads into an enormous round room or rotunda which is crowned by a coffered concrete hemispherical dome with a central opening to the sky - the only source of natural light into the interior. Here are several important burials, including the tomb of the Renaissance painter Raphael and two kings of Italy - Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I
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