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April 10, 2013 · 10:39 am

Who built Rome’s Historic Pantheon?

: Image via Wikipedia

English: The Pantheon in Rome, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plan of the first ( Red ) (by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa) and of the third (Black) (by Hadrian) Pantheon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

complete cupola of Pantheon Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pantheon in Rome has occupied its present location for nearly 2000 years. It was originally designed in 27 B.C. as a pagan temple for all twelve Roman deities; supernatural and immortal beings. The deities were Apollo, Ceres, Diana, Juno, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Minerva, Neptune, Venus, Vesta and Vulcan.

Pantheon – Rome (LOC) (Photo credit: The Library of Congress)

Image via Wikipedia

The massive original doors are still used for entry into the Basilica.

Image via Wikipedia

The structure is as wide as it is tall (140 x 140 feet). The 30 foot wide oculus in the roof is the only source of light and was designed to allow the smoke from the burning of sacrificed animals to escape. The hemispherical dome was made from un-reinforced concrete and is still the largest dome in the world of its type.

Circular exterior view of the side of the Pantheon

The coffers for the concrete dome were poured in molds. Eight massive granite columns support the triangular tympanon.

Agrippa was the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus. Agrippa’s name is still inscribed in the trabeation above the portico in Latin and bears the inscription “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time built this.”

Pantheon Restoration

Agrippa did not really build the Pantheon; he built an earlier temple on this site in 27 B.C. that was ravaged by a fire. The Pantheon was built in 125 AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.

Image via Wikipedia

The Pantheon was given to Pope Boniface IV in 609 and he converted it into a church and named it Santa Maria ad Martyres. Pope Boniface had 28 carloads of martyrs’ bones brought here from various cemeteries in Rome. It became the first pagan temple to be consecrated as a church.

English: An image of the tomb of Umberto I in the Pantheon, in Rome, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Saint Mary and the Martyrs houses the mortal remains of Raphael in an ancient marble sarcophagus. Raphael died in 1520. The bust of Raphael located in the niche left of the aedicule and was completed in 1833 by Giueseppe Fabris.

The tomb of the fist king of Italy, King Victor Emanuele II (1820-1878), has a statue of St. Ann and the Virgin in the aedicule to the left of the tomb by Lorenzo Ottoni.

English: Pantheon, Rome, Raphael's tomb.

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Bronze bust of Raphael on top of the artist's ...

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Most of the marble was recycled for St. Peter’s Basilica. In 1625, Pope Urban VIII (Barberini) removed the bronze from the beams of the portico to make 80 cannons for Castel Sant’Angelo and the four spiral columns of Bernini’s Baldachinno in St. Peter’s Basilica. The colossal bronze doors are original. Today we might consider that a “green” ecologically friendly move but the Roman’s say, “Whatever the barbarians didn’t do, the Barberini did.” The tomb of Victor Emanuele II was then created from bronze that was recast from the Castel Sant’Angelo’s cannons at the turn of the 20^th century.

The general area around the Pantheon is the financial and political hub of the city and includes the stock exchange and Parliament. I think the Cafe Agrippa is a great place for a “Vino con Vista”!

The Piazza della Rotunda is the name of the square in front of the Pantheon. One of Rome’s prized Egyptian obelisks occupies the center of the square. Did you know that you will never get lost in Rome if you follow the obelisks? They are like a Roman GPS system that mark important landmarks in Rome.

Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Travel Guides to Italy and Vino Con Vista Travel Guides can be purchased at these sites.

To learn more about Rome visit www.vino-con-vista.com

Buon Viaggio–

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Filed under Italy, IPad, Rome, ebooks, vino con vista, UNESCO, World Heritage Sites, Rome Italy, Renaissance Art, Italy Travel Guides, Italian art, Ancient Rome, Roman Architecture, Rome History, Roman Emperors, Pantheon

Tagged as Ancient Rome, Barberini, Castel Sant'Angelo, Emperor Augustus, Emperor Hadrian, Hadrian, italy travel, King Victor Emanuele, Lorenzo Ottoni, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Mary (mother of Jesus), Minerva, Pantheon, Pantheon oculus, Pantheon Rome, Piazza della Rotunda Egyptian Obelisk, Pope Boniface IV, Pope Urban VIII, Raffaello Sanzio Tomb, Raphael, Roman, Roman Empire, Roman mythology, Rome, rome history, Sain Mary and the Martyrs and the Pantheon, Santa Maria ad Martyres, Santa Maria ad Martyres is in the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, Travel and Tourism, unesco, vino con vista, What are Roman deities, what does the inscription on the pantheon mean, What is an oculus, What is the name of the Pantheon church, when was the pantheon built, where is King Emanuele II tomb, Where is Raphael's Tomb, where is the pantheon, Who built the pantheon, who is buried at the pantheon, World Heritage Site

May 12, 2012 · 11:19 am

The Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence is the “National Pantheon”

: Image by linearmarlin via Flickr

Santa Croce is the church of the Franciscans and was built in the Italian gothic style. It was completed in 1442.

Français : La porte principale de la basilique de la Sainte-Croix (Santa Croce) à Florence, Italie. English: The main gate of Basilica Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Santa Croce (Photo credit: Dorina Bernard)

The Neo-Gothic façade was re-clad in 1863 in pink, green and white Tuscan marble. It is located in the Piazza di Santa Croce.

Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy (Photo credit: SpirosK)

Tondo of an apostle by Luca della Robbia in the Pazzi Chapel, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is dubbed the “National Pantheon” because it has tombs or centotaphs of the greatest Italians. A centotaph is a funerary monument without the remains of the deceased.

The six-pointed star in the central tympanum is Medieval and these rays symbolize St. Bernadino. In Christian art, there are many saints associated with this star: St. Bruno bears a star on his breast; Saint Dominic, Saint Humbert and Saint Peter of Alcantara have this star on their head or forehead.

The beautiful bell tower was rebuilt in 1842 by Gaetano Baccani because it was destroyed by a bolt of lightning in 1512.

Michelangelo’s tomb (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tondo of Saint Matthew the Evangelist on the dome of Pazzi Chapel, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy (It has been suggested that it was the work of Donatello.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tondo of Saint John the Evangelist on the dome of Pazzi Chapel, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy (It has been suggested that it was the work of Donatello.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

South of the church, visit the secret garden and cloisters. The Pazzi Chapel was designed by Brunelleschi. It is set in front of the neo-Gothic bell-tower. The chapel is adorned by terracotta tondi of the apostles by Luca della Robbia and by roundels of the Evangelists by Donatello.

inside view of the Dome hidden in the portico of Cappella dei Pazzi, Florence, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tondo of an apostle by Luca della Robbia in the Pazzi Chapel, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Main Chapel was commissioned by Jacopo degli Alberti. The polyptych on the altar was redone in the 19^th century and portrays the Virgin, Saints and Fathers of the Church crowned by a large crucifix by “Maestro de Figline” who worked in Giotto’s workshop. There is a beautiful Polyptych by Giotto and his pupils in the Baroncelli Chapel.

The Florentine Pantheon has tombs and monuments to legendary citizens. Many marble tombstones cover the floor of Santa Croce.

Renaissance tombs exalted the dead person’s achievements on earth. Most of the monuments is Santa Croce have designated allegorical figures to depict the earthly accomplishments of the deceased. The wall of the right nave contains the “Monument to Michelangelo” by Vasari (1570).

Michelangelo Buonarroti (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Michelangelo returned to Florence between in 1499–1501, after after the fall Girolamo Savonarola who was executed in 1498. Michelangelo was asked to complete a colossal statue portraying David that was started 40 years earlier by Agostino di Duccio.

David (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Statue of David would occupy a prominent spot in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Today the statue outside the Palazzo Vecchio is a replica. The real David is in the Academia in Florence.

Michelangelo-Buonarroti-David-Replica-Florence (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This famous sculpture was made from a marble block from the quarries at Carrara.

In 1505, Michelangelo was invited back to Rome by Pope Julius II to build the Pope’s tomb. He worked on the tomb for 40 years.

The tomb of Pope Julius II by Michelangelo and its statue of Moise in the basilica San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The tomb is located in the Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli in Rome and Michelangelo’s statue of Moses is the central feature.

Statue of Moses by Michelangelo, church San Pietro in Vincoli; Rome, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Michelangelo died, Vasari erected his tomb in Santa Croce. The sarcophagus is surrounded by allegorical figures of “Painting” by Battista Lorenzi, “Sculpture” by Valerio Cioli and “Architecture” by Giovanni dell’Opera. The bust of Michelangelo was carved by Lorenzi. The beautiful frescoes that flank the monument were done by Domenico Ghirlandaio.

Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Travel Guides to Italy at www.vino-con-vista.com