The Pantheon in Rome

The Pantheon was the fist building which destroys the barriers between the sacred and the profane. In the past the access to the gods residence were only given to bishops and vestals, when the Pantheon was built this privilege was granted to everybody. The legend tells that this structure rise in the point where Romulus, after his death, was brought in the sky by an eagle. The consul Agrippa asked to build this temple dedicated to all the divinities. Therefore the Pantheon was the first religious building open to the public, but this isn’t the only primacy of this structure: it’s the best conserved monument in Rome and it boasts an incredible number of copies and imitations. Its structure is a masterpiece of engineering and architecture, above all if you think that it was built in 27-25 BC, and it’s still there, in a perfect state of preservation. On the moat that surrounds this majestic temple there’s also a legend: The devil was outside the Pantheon waiting for Pietro Bailardo (a bandit and soldier of fortune) to pay his pawn. But Bailardo entered the temple to regret of his misdeed, and the devil, furious for that, made a big fire circle around the temple. That’s how the moat was created.

Informations to visit the Pantheon:
When: from monday to friday 8,30 am – 6,30 pm. Sunday 9 am to 6 pm. Public holidays 9 am 1,30 pm.
Tickets: free entrance
How to get here: from Piazza di Spagna, walk on Via del Corso.