The Pantheon in Rome

Meanwhile, back at the Pantheon (118-125 AD) there is still great wonder amongst architects and engineers as to how the Romans built that dome without reinforcing the concrete and what keeps it from falling. The exterior is almost Spartan in its simplicity, basically a bare concrete drum with the gently curving dome above, unadorned with marble. But once at the deep porch that notion flies away fast. The staircase leading to it regrettably has long since been submerged by successive street levels over the centuries; only at the sides is the original ground level seen. The supporting columns bear stately Corinthian capitals, and marble enhances its interior as you walk to the entrance. The architect saved the good stuff for inside.

The art historian H. W. Janson rightly describes: “The impact of the interior, awe-inspiring and harmonious at the same time, is impossible to convey in photographs. The dome is not shallow, but is a true hemisphere; and the circular opening in its center admits an ample–and wonderfully even–flow of light. The ‘eye’ is 143 feet above the floor, and that is also the diameter of the interior, so that the dome and drum, being of equal height, are in exact balance.” Awe-inspiring squared was our reaction.

The tremendous thrust and weight of the dome required a base 20 feet thick diminishing to 6 feet thick. “Another surprise are the niches, which show that the weight of the dome does not rest uniformly on the drum but is concentrated on eight ‘pillars.’ The niches … are enclosed in back, but since they are screened by columns they give the effect of openings that lead to adjoining rooms and thus prevent us from feeling imprisoned inside the Pantheon.” The marble paneled walls and mosaic floors are essentially the same as in Roman times as are the dome’s recessed coffers, though the original gilt covering is gone. It is regarded as the best preserved and most impressive surviving Roman structure.

The Pantheon was a temple to all the gods, but the it is arguable just who that might have included. All the Roman gods? All the gods worshiped within the Empire? Maybe even all the gods there are, even if not yet discovered? By the time it was built, Christianity was well known. It has been a Catholic church for centuries, and its original character exists in harmony with the tasteful addition of Catholic statuary, paintings, and altar. It and St. Peter’s were our two must-see churches in Rome.

History of Art by H.W, Janson. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965, pp. 134-135.