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Pantheon, Rome

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The Pantheon is one of the most magnificent buildings in Rome. And the splendor of this domed temple, made a church (St. Mary and the Martyrs) by Pope Boniface IV, isn't lost on the kids. If you put it context, that is. Hadrian's Pantheon, 125 AD, was the first round temple ever built and it's the oldest standing domed structure in the world. The first Pantheon, built by Agrippa on the same spot 150 years earlier, looked very different from the one you see today. It was rectangular in shape like all other temples of the time. And the entrance portico faced south not north. Both Hadrian and Agr... Read Moreippa's temples are called the Pantheon because they were dedicated to all Roman gods. Pantheon in Greek means all gods, pan means all, teos means god. As you tour the Roman Pantheon take note of more than the tombs. (Rafael and two Italian Kings are buried here.) The height of the rotunda is the same as the diameter, 43.3 m or 142 ft. A perfect sphere! The oculus or Great Eye is the building's only source of light as well as the symbol of the sun. But more amazing still is the cupola's construction. Each tier is lighter than the previous one. Punic pumice stone, so light it floats, was used to build the highest level.

Pantheon, Rome

Alfredo De Simone

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Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini

What does a Latin expression have to do with the Pantheon? Let's start with its meaning. The Latin proverb Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini in English reads 'What the barbarians didn't do, the Barberinis did.' Now let's add a few facts. Pope Urban VIII was born Maffeo Barberini. Urban patronized the arts on grand scale and many of his projects were costly. He commissioned Bernini to build the baldacchino in the Basilica of St. Peter and bid the papal foundry to make new cannons for Castel Sant'Angelo. Both projects required lots of bronze. Now lets add a bit of satirical sneering. To save time and money Urban is said to have used the bronze beams from Pantheon's portico to build his cannons and baldacchino. And so the Latin phrase was coined.