The Pantheon
The Pantheon was built nearly 2,000 years ago as a pagan temple to the deities of seven planets, then became a Christian church in the 7th Century. With its original roof still intact and providing continual use throughout its life, the Pantheon is the best preserved building in Rome - and surely one of the most impressive. It is considered a perfect example of classical architectural harmony as its height and diameter are equal.

Fun Facts

• When Michelangelo first saw the Pantheon he described it as an "angelic and not human design." A plausible critic, wouldn't you say?


• It's remains a mystery today how the Pantheon is still standing in all its glory. At its weight and size, it should surely be underground being that it sits on the same marshy surface that swallowed the Roman Forum.


• There is a large hole in the top of the Pantheon's dome called the oculus, or Great Eye, as translated from Latin. The hole is and has always been open to the weather, allowing rain to drip in and be carried away by drains.

Link

Pantheon