Pantheon

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The Pantheon is an ancient Roman temple in the centre of Rome, Italy. The building that stands today was finished under Emperor Hadrian around AD 125, on the spot where an earlier temple built by the Roman general Marcus Agrippa had burned down. Its name comes from Greek words meaning "of all the gods". Since AD 609 it has been a Christian church, and being used all that time is a big reason it survived so well.

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At a glance

Country: Italy
Location: Rome, Italy
Built: 125
Height: 43.3 m
Type: Religious building

Quick answers

Where is Pantheon?

Pantheon is in Rome, Italy.

When was Pantheon built?

Pantheon was built in 125.

How tall is Pantheon?

Pantheon is about 43.3 m tall.

An ancient Roman temple whose unreinforced concrete dome, open to the sky through its oculus, is still the largest of its kind.

From outside, a porch of tall granite columns leads into a huge round hall covered by a concrete dome. At the very top is a round opening called the oculus, which lets in the sky. Almost 2,000 years later, it is still the largest dome in the world made of concrete with no steel bars inside. Builders have copied its design for centuries.

How it was built

The dome is a perfect half of a ball. The round hall is 43.3 metres across, and the top of the dome is exactly 43.3 metres high, so a giant sphere could just fit inside. Roman builders made the concrete lighter as they went up: heavy stone near the bottom, then broken tiles, and light, bubbly volcanic rock such as pumice near the top. The ceiling is shaped into five rings of 28 square hollows called coffers, which also take away weight. The walls of the round hall are about 6 metres thick.

History

Agrippa's first temple here burned down in AD 80, and a second one burned after a lightning strike in 110. The third, which still stands, was probably begun under Emperor Trajan and finished under Hadrian. Hadrian kept Agrippa's name in giant letters on the front, so the building looks older than it really is. In 609 it became a church dedicated to St Mary and the Martyrs. In 663 the bronze sheets that covered the outside of the dome were taken away.

What's inside

Standing under the oculus, you can look straight up at the sky through an opening about 8.8 metres wide, with no glass at all. The floor still has its ancient pattern of squares and circles in coloured marble and granite. Along the walls are deep alcoves framed by marble columns. Several famous people are buried inside, including the Renaissance painter Raphael.

Fun facts

The dome is exactly as tall as it is wide: 43.3 metres.
The concrete dome weighs about 4,535 tonnes.
Each of the eight columns across the front of the porch is 11.8 metres tall, and each shaft is cut from a single piece of granite.
The big Latin inscription on the front names Marcus Agrippa, even though the building was finished more than 100 years after he died.
The round hall of the United States Capitol was designed to remind people of the Pantheon.