The Pantheon’s deep portico gives way to a vast domed interior whose geometry has shaped architecture for centuries. The building preserves the name of Agrippa’s earlier temple, while its present form dates to Hadrian’s rebuilding in the second century.
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The portico’s forest of Corinthian columns hides the scale of the space behind it. Once you enter the rotunda, the dome opens overhead and an oculus draws daylight into the center.
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- Agrippa commissioned an earlier temple on this site in 27 BCE.
- Hadrian’s reconstruction dates to 118–125 CE.
- The building was consecrated as a Christian church in 609.
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