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— CH. 1 · ORIGINS AND CONSTRUCTION HISTORY —

Pantheon, Rome

~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
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  • Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa began an impressive building program in the Campus Martius after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The Pantheon was part of a complex created on his own property between 29 and 19 BC. This original structure included three buildings aligned from south to north: the Baths of Agrippa, the Basilica of Neptune, and the Pantheon itself. Archaeological excavations have shown that the current building is not the one Agrippa built. The original temple burned down completely except for its façade during a fire in 80 AD. Domitian rebuilt the Pantheon, which was then burnt again in 110 AD. The present construction likely began around 114 under Emperor Trajan, four years after the second fire destroyed the previous version. Lise Hetland argues that the commonly maintained Hadrianic date should be reexamined based on brick-stamp studies. She suggests that Herbert Bloch's 1959 paper excluded all Trajanic-era bricks incorrectly. The inscription on the front reads M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT, meaning Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, made it. This text was reused by Hadrian when he ordered the reconstruction. Cassius Dio mistakenly attributed the domed building to Agrippa rather than Hadrian approximately 75 years after the reconstruction. In 202, emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla repaired the building, leaving another smaller inscription on the architrave.

  • The weight of the Roman concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs 14 meters in diameter that form the oculus. The thickness of the dome varies from 6 meters at the base to 1 meter around the oculus. At its thickest point, the aggregate is travertine, then terracotta tiles, and finally tufa and pumice at the very top. These porous light stones reduce the load where the dome would be weakest. Hidden chambers engineered within the rotunda form a sophisticated structural system known as honeycombing. There are openings at various levels that give onto many different chambers inside the rotunda structure. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are both 43.3 meters. This means the whole interior fits exactly within a cube or a sphere of that same dimension. The dome spans 150 Roman feet while the oculus measures 30 Roman feet in diameter. No tensile test results exist for this specific concrete, but tests on ancient ruins in Libya showed compressive strength values. Finite element analysis found maximum tensile stress of only 0.2 megapascals at the junction with the raised outer wall. If normal weight concrete had been used throughout, stresses would have been 80 percent greater. The top of the rotunda wall features brick relieving arches visible on the outside and built into the mass of the brickwork. All other extant ancient domes required tie-rods, chains, or banding to prevent collapse.

  • In 609, Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV who converted it into a Christian church. On the 13th of May 609, he consecrated it to St. Mary and the Martyrs. Twenty-eight cartloads of holy relics were removed from catacombs and placed in a porphyry basin beneath the high altar. Boniface placed an icon of the Mother of God as Panagia Hodegetria within the new sanctuary. Paul the Deacon records that Emperor Constans II visited Rome in July 663 and stripped off the roof of the church. He took away bronze tiles and sent them to Constantinople along with all other ornaments. Much fine external marble has been removed over centuries including capitals from pilasters now housed in the British Museum. Two columns were swallowed up in medieval buildings abutting the east side and lost forever. In the early 17th century, Urban VIII Barberini tore down the bronze ceiling of the portico. Most of this bronze was melted down to make bombards for fortifying Castel Sant'Angelo. The only other loss includes external sculptures that adorned the pediment above Agrippa's inscription. The marble interior has largely survived despite extensive restoration work over many years.

  • Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has served as the site of several important burials among notable figures. Raphael lies buried here with his fiancée Maria Bibbiena who died before they could marry. His sarcophagus bears the inscription ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI meaning Here lies Raphael by whom Nature feared to be overcome while he lived. King Victor Emmanuel II died in 1878 and rests in a chapel originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Manfredo Manfredi won a competition to design this tomb starting work in 1885. The second chapel holds the tomb of King Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia completed after Giuseppe Sacconi's death by Guido Cirilli. Annibale Carracci also finds his final resting place within these walls alongside composer Arcangelo Corelli and architect Baldassare Peruzzi. Pope Clement XI commissioned present high altars and apses designed by Alessandro Specchi between 1700 and 1721. A 7th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Child given by Phocas sits enshrined above the main altar. Melozzo da Forlì painted the Annunciation fresco in the Chapel of the Annunciation on the right side. Pietro Paolo Bonzi created Incredulity of St Thomas for the right wall in 1633.

  • The Pantheon is managed by Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism through Polo Museale del Lazio. It functions as state property open to visitors who must maintain appropriate deference during Masses celebrated on Sundays and holy days. Weddings occur occasionally within the sacred space despite its status as an active Catholic church. In 2013 over six million people visited this ancient monument making it one of Rome's most popular attractions. The floor features drains built with an incline of about two degrees to promote water runoff from rain falling through the oculus. Firefighters of the Vigili del Fuoco throw huge quantities of red rose petals through the opening on Pentecost. The National Institute for the Honour Guard of the Royal Tombs mounts a guard of honour before the royal tombs. Authorities have refused burial requests for exiled kings Vittorio Emanuele III and Umberto II after monarchy abolition in June 1946. The institution continues operating under authorization from the Italian Republic since originally chartered by House of Savoy.

  • Brunelleschi looked to the Pantheon as inspiration when completing his dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence in 1436. Gian Lorenzo Bernini followed this work restoring the Roman original while designing Santa Maria Assunta in Ariccia in 1664. Thomas Jefferson relied on paintings by Andrea Palladio when constructing the Rotunda at University of Virginia during the 19th century. Students of architecture learned directly from this structure designed so that they could study its proportions. The 1824 Henriette Wegner Pavilion in Oslo's Frogner Park features a painted miniature copy of the Pantheon dome. Carl Ludvig Engel took influences from the structure for the 1837 Nokia Church in Finland. Albert Speer planned an assembly hall called Volkshalle inspired by the Pantheon but never built it for Hitler's Germania project. Other domes include the Rotunda of Mosta in Malta completed in 1833 and Belle Isle House in England dated 1774. Government buildings, city halls, university structures, and public libraries frequently adopt the portico-and-dome form found here. The Rotunda gallery opened in New York City in 1818 has not survived despite being another notable replica.

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Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome

Common questions

Who built the original Pantheon in Rome?

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa began construction of the original Pantheon between 29 and 19 BC as part of a building program on his own property. The current structure is not the one Agrippa built because the original temple burned down completely except for its façade during a fire in 80 AD.

When was the present Pantheon constructed under Emperor Trajan or Hadrian?

The present construction likely began around 114 under Emperor Trajan four years after the second fire destroyed the previous version. Lise Hetland argues that the commonly maintained Hadrianic date should be reexamined based on brick-stamp studies which suggest Herbert Bloch excluded all Trajanic-era bricks incorrectly in 1959.

How did Byzantine emperor Phocas convert the Pantheon into a Christian church?

In 609 Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV who converted it into a Christian church. On the 13th of May 609 he consecrated it to St. Mary and the Martyrs and placed twenty-eight cartloads of holy relics from catacombs beneath the high altar.

What are the structural dimensions of the Pantheon dome and oculus?

The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are both 43.3 meters meaning the whole interior fits exactly within a cube or sphere of that same dimension. The dome spans 150 Roman feet while the oculus measures 30 Roman feet in diameter with thickness varying from 6 meters at the base to 1 meter around the opening.

Which famous figures are buried inside the Pantheon today?

Raphael lies buried here with his fiancée Maria Bibbiena who died before they could marry and King Victor Emmanuel II died in 1878 and rests in a chapel originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Manfredo Manfredi won a competition to design this tomb starting work in 1885 and other notable burials include Annibale Carracci Arcangelo Corelli and Baldassare Peruzzi.

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All sources

69 references cited across the entry

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