|
 Of
all ancient Rome's great buildings, only the Pantheon (All the Gods)
remains intact. It was built in 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa and was
reconstructed by Hadrian in the early 2nd century A.D. This
remarkable building, 142 feet wide and 142 feet high (a perfect
sphere resting in a cylinder) and once ringed with white marble
statues of Roman gods in its niches, is among the architectural
wonders of the world because of its dome and its concept of space.
Hadrian himself is credited with the basic plan, an architectural
design that was unique for the time. The once-gilded dome is merely
show.
A real dome, a perfect hemisphere of cast concrete, rests on a
solid ring wall, supporting this massive structure. Before the 20th
century, this was the biggest pile of concrete ever constructed. The
ribbed dome outside is a series of almost weightless cantilevered
brick. Animals were sacrificed and burned in the center, and the
smoke escaped through the only means of light, the oculus, an
opening at the top 18 feet in diameter. Michelangelo came here to
study the dome before designing the cupola of St. Peter's (whose
dome is 2 ft. smaller than the Pantheon's). The walls are 25 feet
thick, and the bronze doors leading into the building weigh 20 tons
each. About 125 years ago, Raphael's tomb was discovered here (fans
still bring him flowers). |
