Heading to the Pantheon in Rome and want to know more about the structure? It is almost 2000 years old which is a lot of time to accumulate stories, folklore, and even dead bodies! I, a local guide of Rome, created this article all about what to see at the Pantheon and why it is important!
Meaning of the word “Pantheon”
The word Pantheon translates to all-worship or all-gods depending on how you look at it. Contrary to what many have written on the internet, the use of the building was not to worship all pagan gods. Pagan gods didn’t appreciate sharing a temple with other gods.
Some exceptions are for gods conjoined in their purposes like Castor & Pollux. Also, a deified couple like Antonius Pius and Faustina his wife share a temple. But in general, the Romans built temples individually dedicated to a single deity.
What the Roman used the Pantheon for is undocumented at best making any reason I provided mostly assumption or guess. A strong theory from Professor of Archeology Amanda Claridge is that the Pantheon existed for the worship of Emperors yet to be deified. It is no mystery that Romans did not like to worship Emperors as gods until after their death. Claridge states in her Rome Archeological Guide, “the Pantheon provided a setting–not a temple in the conventional sense–in which the living emperor would appear in the company with the gods (including his own deified predecessors).
If you are a history nerd like us, read up more on the Pantheon’s history and/or jump on our Rome in a Day tour which explores the area with a local passionate guide!
4. The Porch of Pantheon
The inscription on the front reads: M AGRIPPA L. F. COS TERTIUM FECIT or Marcus Agrippa, Son of Lucius, Thrice Consul, Made This. There is also another inscription which is extremely difficult to say that reads: pantheum vetustate corruptum cum omni cultu restituerunt or with every refinement they restored the Pantheum, worn by age. This was likely a superficial upgrade which would be non-structural.
You would have most likely seen massive statues of Caesar Augustus and Marcus Agrippa on the front porch in the two alcoves. You also would have probably seen statues of Venus and Mars. Julius Caesar, the father of Augustus, claimed to have descended from Venus.
The porch is significantly different from the inner drum. It is literally the square peg and round hole dilemma. Many speculate why the building’s porch design does not match the width of the drum. If you look directly at the structure you can see the drum behind the porch which, for a lack of better words, makes the exterior look ugly. Some think this was due to a shortage of materials during construction or even a shipwreck that caused the loss of some columns from Egypt.
Egyptian Marble
It is still a classical monumental entrance. Support columns are monolithic shafts of Egyptian granite that sit on a base of white Pentelic marble. The exterior of the building would also have been completely clad with marble – the Romans would not have designed the structure with a brick exterior.
The triangular facade shows many marks that lead us to believe there must have been a frieze on the front. Imagine a massive Eagle in a victorious wreath which was the symbol of Rome and Jupiter. You’ll see small holes that would have adjoined the frieze to the facade.
Notice there are 4 pink Aswan marble columns in the middle of the porch. These columns were added in the 17th century after some damage and are not original to the building. The bronze doors, although ancient for us, are not original to the building. They were likely added in the 15th century when Rome was coming out of the darkness of the middle ages.
3.The Tomb of Vittorio Emanuele (Victor Emmanuel)
Vittorio Emmanuelle was a Sardinian King who successfully unified all of the sub-kingdoms of Italy to form one great nation between 1861 – 1871. He was from the Casa Savoia which was a great noble family established in 1003 AD. Their family still has successors today although their titles are not recognized.
Emmanuel’s army, led by the great Giuseppe Garibaldi, successfully unified the peninsula under the rule of one monarch. Some sub-kingdoms joined peacefully and others by force. The final stop was the battle of Castelfidardo which is when Garibaldi fought and was victorious over the Papal forces. The catholic church controlling armies is extremely foreign to us today.
Victor Emmanuel II died in 1878 and was buried in the Pantheon. His tomb reads Padre della Patria which translates to the Father of the Fatherland. The fact that he was allowed to be buried here is a mystery. Pope Pius IX refused to meet with Emmanuel after he overtook Rome and never acknowledged his reign. Then, he allows him to be buried inside the Pantheon which is a Catholic Church?
Umberto I, the second and last King of Italy and also a Savoia, is buried in the same tomb.
2. Raphael’s Tomb
Raphael’s tomb sits in the back left-hand side of the structure. He is buried next to his fiancee Maria Bibbiena which was not by his design. He was madly in love with Margherita Lute who was a baker’s daughter and the subject of many of his works of art including La Fornarina (Palazzo Barberini) which translates literally to the baker’s daughter.
Raphael, who lived from 1483 to 1520 and arguably died on his birthday, is situated under a statue of Mary holding baby Jesus to her left which was done by an artist named Lorenzetto.
His tomb reads ILLE HIC EST RAFFAEL, TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI, RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI which was translated by Alexander Pope to read, “Living, great nature feared he might outvie Her works; and, dying, fears herself may die.”
If you are a history nerd like us, read up more on the Pantheon’s history and/or jump on our Rome in a Day tour which explores the area with a local passionate guide!
1. The Dome & Oculus
Once you walk inside your eyes will be drawn to the dome above you. Many people stop in the doorway causing traffic jams and we can’t blame you. That is the effect Appolodorus would have longed for. I’ve written it in other blogs, but the architecture of Rome was heavily focused on showing the superiority of the Romans and the Pantheon was no different.
The building is 44.4M tall by 44.M wide and built completely from stone, brick, and concrete. The dome is made entirely out of concrete with 5 rows of 28 coffers that diminish in size as you get closer to the oculus. The oculus is completely open.
Rain and other elements do get inside the structure when doors are closed. You’ll see the floor sloping down into the center and drains in place to allow water to leave the structure. There is a decorate bronze ring on the interior of the oculus and there would have likely been decorative bronze fixtures in all of the 140 coffers.
The dome is a perfect hemisphere and you would be able to fit a sphere inside the structure with a diameter of 44.4M which would touch the ceiling, floor, and walls. The building is perfect and thus its construction is a mystery. Some believe a complex scaffolding was used to lay the concrete and others believe the entire building was filled with sand from Ostia. Today, all you can do is enjoy it.
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