365 Wow Places:
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Wow Place #276: The Pantheon, Rome, Italy
I wonder what it must be like to be a city planner, trying to organize a metropolis around ancient ruins. If you have, say, an Egyptian obelisk smack in the middle of your town, do you stick it in a traffic circle (a la the Arc de Triomphe)? Do you make a park out of it? Or do you just relocate it to a nearby museum? Inquiring minds want to know!
By and large, most ancient monuments seem to be on the outskirts of town, which is lucky. If you want to see Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, you visit it by taxi, bus or motorcycle from Siem Reap, the nearest town. The ruins of Turkey’s Ephesus are relatively far away from the city center of nearby Selcuk.
But what do you do about a place like the Pantheon in Rome?
I mean, it’s right there in the middle of everything, a hop, skip and a jump from the Trevi Fountain. No doubt this is a prime piece of Roman real estate. What developer wouldn’t want to build an office building or apartment complex right in the center of Italy’s capital?!!
And yet the Pantheon abides, as it always has.
One of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman building, the Pantheon has been in continuous use throughout its history. Originally built as a temple during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – AD14), it burnt down and was then rebuilt in its present structure by Hadrian c. AD 126. Round in plan apart from the portico out front with its large, granite, Corinthian columns under a pediment, the Pantheon features a rectangular vestibule linking to the rotunda – an impressive, round chamber capped by a coffered, concrete dome with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Neary 2,000 years after its construction, the Pantheon’s dome is still the world’s largest, unreinforced, concrete dome, built without modern cranes or hydraulics!
Would the Pantheon have survived if it had remained a pagan temple? Hard to say. The point is mute as the building was repurposed in the 7th century into a church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs, known as Santa Maria Rotonda. During the renaissance, several notable “celebrities” were buried in the Pantheon, including the composer Corelli, the architect Peruzzi, and the painters Carracci and Raphael. In the 15th century, the rotunda was adorned with paintings such as The Annunciation by Melozzo da Forli.
And of course, Dan Brown featured it broadly in his best-selling book, Angels and Demons (2000).
Entering the Pantheon is a fairly enthralling experience. I remember thinking, “I can’t believe I’m inside a 2000-year old-building that looks like it was built yesterday!” The dome gives the space an open and airy feeling, while the gray concrete conveys a more somber vibe. I imagine this is the complex atmosphere you want in a temple/church – inviting the visitors to look upward in awe, reverence and contemplation.
As a treasure hunt enthusiast, however, I can’t help thinking about the Dan Brown book. Surely there must be a clue somewhere around here for me to find! I just know that at a certain time, on a certain day, a beam of light is going to stream in from that oculus and spotlight a hidden niche concealing a valuable treasure.
I can see it all now – the Pantheon’s next evolution: from temple to church to … escape room!
(The Pantheon is a great example of re-purposing. It started one way and, in order to survive, it continued on in another way. What can you repurpose in your own home, to give it new life, new functionality. Can that coffee cup become a planter? Can that t-shirt become a wall-hanging? Perhaps more importantly, how might you repurpose you? What’s your next evolution? What will you scrap, what will you retain? The treasure hunt for meaning continues.)