THE WORLD ATLAS

Ancient site · Temple

Pantheon, Rome

The Pantheon in Rome is a temple to all the gods, rebuilt under Emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated around 126 CE on the site of an earlier temple by Agrippa. A porch of granite columns leads into a round hall covered by a concrete dome with an open hole, the oculus, at the top.

Almost two thousand years later it is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. Since 609 CE it has been a church, which is one reason it survives so well.

See it on the map

Dates
c. 126 CE; a church since 609
Still standing
Yes
UNESCO World Heritage
Yes
Location
41.90° N, 12.48° E

How we know

Roman texts and the inscription on its front record it, although Hadrian copied the older builder Agrippa's name onto it, so its exact date is uncertain.

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Sources