Rome~July 4th~Pantheon~Part Three

The Pantheon was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD.  It's one of the best preserved of all ancient Roman buildings. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs. Informally, it's known as Santa Maria Rotunda. The square in front of the Pantheon is known as the Piazza della Rotunda.  The Pantheon was destroyed & rebuilt multiple times.

Here you can see the ancient Rome that is lower than the modern Rome of today.

It had long been thought that the current building was built by Marcus Agrippa, with later alterations undertaken, and this was in part because of the inscription on the front of the temple. M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT = "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time."  However, archaeological excavations have shown that the Pantheon of Agrippa had been completely destroyed except for the facade.

 The Pantheon & the Fontana del Pantheon

 Neil & Ryann

 Laura & John

 The tomb of Raphael (Italian painter & architect of the High Renaissance)

 Grandmom &Granddad

 Ryann, Mom & me

 Neil & Ryann

 Neil & Ryann

The dome of the Pantheon.

The doors were enormously tall & thick!

 The Fontana del Pantheon (Fountain of the Pantheon) was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII and is located in front of the Pantheon.  It was designed by Giacomo Della Porta in 1575.

 The corkscrew lantern of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

A fountain

 Can you spot the fake windows?

 Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (Saint Yves at Sapienza) is a Roman Catholic church built in 1642-1660 by the architect, Francesco Borromini.  It's a masterpiece of Roman Baroque architecture.

Sant'Ivo, embraced by the wings of the Palazzo alla Sapienza

 The church in the middle is Sant'Agnese in Agone.

Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome.  It was built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian in the 1st century AD. It is called Piazza even though it is not a square. It is shaped like an oval. It was built over an old Roman arena.

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) by Bernini (1651) with Egyptian obelisk

John & me

 Selfie! Laura, Mom & me

Laura, Mom & me in front of the Fountain of the Four Rivers

 John and me

 Neil & Ryann

 Fontana del Moro (Moor Fountain)


 Piazza Navona

Palazzo della Cancelleria (Papal Chancellery) is regarded as the earliest Renaissance palace in Rome. It's an extraterritorial property of the Holy See and is designated as a World Heritage Site.

 Elmo and the dog of one of the priests we saw

 

Adapted from Ryann's Blog