Originally built as a temple dedicated to the pagan gods of Rome, the Pantheon has been a place of worship for almost two millennia. Pantheon is a Greek word meaning “honor all Gods” so the building had special significance during the Roman Empire.
The hole (oculus), 7.8 meters in diameter, is the only source of light and is the connection between the temple and the gods above. Rain occasionally falls through it, but the floor is slanted and drains the water when it hits the floor… but in practice, rain seldom falls inside the dome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome
The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, now a church, in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus.
The Piazza della Rotonda is a piazza in Rome, Italy, on the south side of which is located the Pantheon. The square gets its name from the Pantheon's informal title as the church of Santa Maria Rotonda.
Inside the Pantheon ~ Three of them are tombs : one the final resting place of the great artist Raphael, the other two are Kings of the unified Italy, including Vittorio Emanuele, known as the 'Father of the Nation', whose tomb is often guarded by a volunteer.
Category:Travel and Places
Subcategory:Europe
Subcategory Detail:Italy
Keywords:agrippa, architecture, column, dome, history, italy, marcus, pantheon, roman, rome, temple, tour, travel