Via della Minerva will lead you from piazza della Minerva to the piazza della Rotonda, where the Pantheon is located. In 1578 Giacomo della Porta installed a fountain in the central square, which was complemented with an Egyptian obelisk in the 18th Century. The obelisk once decorated the Field of Mars.
The Pantheon is one of the most famous and impressive monuments of antiquity – a majestic ancient "temple of all the Gods" (which is where the name originates). In the years 27-25 B.C., during the rule of Emperor Augustus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, the Roman war general and political leader, who was the second most important person in the empire after the emperor himself, financed the construction of the Pantheon. His building was seriously damaged in the fire of 80 A.D., and after being restored during the rule of Domitian, was completely reconstructed during the rule of emperor Adrian around 125 A.D. The Pantheon is an architectural masterpiece. The destiny of this majestic building was not always favorable. In the 4th Century it was closed, in the next century it was robbed by barbarian tribes. In 608 the Pantheon was turned into a Christian church, which allowed the ancient building to survive during the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, nothing prevented pope Urban the 8th (Barberini) from ordering the dismantling of the constructions which upheld the roof of the portico. This was done in order to take the bronze for the canopy of Saint Paul's cathedral, which later served precedent to the birth of the expression: "What the barbarians haven't done, the Barberini did"
The Pantheon represents a round building, covered by a huge dome. From the inside, the Pantheon creates an amazing impression. The dome is supported by the walls, forming a huge holistic dome space. The height of the construction is 42.7 meters and the interior diameter of the dome is 43.5 meters. The height of the walls is equal to half the length of the building, which makes the dome a half-sphere. In the center of the dome there is a round opening gap with a diameter of 9 meters – to serve as passage for sunlight.
When the Pantheon became a Christian church, the niches where turned into chapels. In the first chapel you will find the "Annunciation" credited to Melozzo de Forli. Raphael – one of the greatest painters of all time, is buried at the Pantheon.
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