A Rambling Writer Rerun: Italy, part 7: Rome’s Pantheon and the Bone Church
From the Sublime to the Macabre! Your Italy virtual vacation continues with the beautifully preserved Pantheon and a chapel decorated with Friars’ bones.
NOTE: For a virtual vacation and time-travel, join me and Thor in 2008. Italy! Starting with highlight photos posted here on Saturday, June 15, I’ll continue this rerun series every week, with occasional interruptions for other Geezer Adventures. Join us in Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, and Milan. Buon viaggio!
The Roman Pantheon is considered a must-see in Rome, for good reason. Literally a temple for “all gods,” it was built by Emperor Hadrian in 120 A.D., though he inscribed it to Marcus Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus Caesar, who had built an earlier temple here that burned. The best-preserved ancient Roman structure in modern-day Rome, it escaped destruction by pilfering once the Christians adopted it as a church in the 7th century A.D. It’s been in continuous use for almost 2000 years. When we stepped inside, I marveled at the gleaming marble flooring that still looks brand new (80% is the original marble, in the original design).
The Pantheon’s immense portico is an impressive tribute to the Greek temples that Hadrian admired, but it’s the soaring dome behind it that made history and inspired many later designers such as Michelangelo. He studied it as the model for his dome of St. Peter’s, and it also inspired the dome of the U.S. Capitol building.
Thor and I first stopped in the busy Piazza della Rotunda on one of our evening rambles, when the Pantheon was closed.
I’m posting my complete blog entries on my own author website at www.sarastamey.com, where you can finish this episode and enjoy all the accompanying photos. Please continue reading by clicking on the link below, then you can return here (use “go back” arrow above) to comment, ask questions, or join a conversation. We love your responses!
https://sarastamey.com/the-rambling-writers-italy-part-7-romes-pantheon-and-the-bone-church/
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection — a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?” The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara is at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
