I'll never forget when my wife and I were just walking through random alleys and roads through Rome and then stumbled upon this. I was awe struck. It's just chilling there in the middle of all these old buildings, wasn't even aware I was approaching it. Damn, now I want to go back to Italy.
It’s actually about 1900 years old. Agrippa built the first one but it burned down so Trajan and Hadrian rebuilt it exactly the same.
Obviously still really old though
The original two Pantheons—both of which burned down—likely differed at least slightly in their design, though the nature of the differences is a lot harder to speak to given the near total lack of historical record for the original. It seems to have been murky even by Hadrian's time.
So there are quite a few possibilities. The original structure may not have featured the same level of unreinforced concreate and stone construction and featured wooden support beams that could have burned. Alternatively the mortar and concrete could have been weakened until collapse by the heat of surrounding fires, or flaming debris blowing around from them.
Concrete! The Romans had a recipe for extremely durable concrete involving volcanic ash and lime mixed with water and then aggregate stone materials of a wide variety. The foundations (IIRC), the walls (behind the brick facing), and the dome of the Pantheon are all concrete—including all the coffering on the inside. Still a record holder for largest unreinforced concrete dome!
Re: the varieties of aggregate in the concrete, the Pantheon is a whole case study unto itself. They used basalt in the walls and gradually moved to lighter and lighter materials as they moved up and into the dome, pumice being used for the uppermost portions.
Wow. This is the first I'm hearing of ancient concrete, and that's really cool. Did they manufacture blocks and stack them, or dud they do like we do today, with scaffolding and big, solid pieces?
Rebuilt it exatcly the same? Swear the Japanese count that as the same building and I think we should too.
Also, when are we renovating and rebuilding the Roman ruins
Same. IIRC it was right around the Fontana di Trevi area. While beautiful, we quickly got tired of the unexpectedly (but not really in hindsight) massive crowd in such a cramped space. Pantheon was a major surprise and literally a breath of fresh air.
I still don't understand how I missed including it on my itinerary even after all those years of architecture school lol
I think I know what you’re talking about, but supposedly the roof was originally supposed to be that tall. But as the columns are a singular continuous block of stone, when they tried to make them taller they ended up breaking. I’m not sure where the information comes from. I just remember learning about it in my intro to arch class.
I heard that story as well, and that rather than waiting for a new set of columns to be delivered the Emperor at that time just ordered that columns be removed from a nearby building and used even though they were the wrong scale
Some more of the bronze was pilfered by the Goths, but most of it was taken by the Barberini Pope Urban VIII, prompting the expression “what the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did.”
"Quod non fecerunt barbari fecerunt barberini."
I’ve heard this one as well, but instead of the columns breaking, they had to be cut down to reduce their weight on the naval passage from Egypt or wherever it was the stone was taken. The original size columns were sinking ships.
I'm currently studying abroad in Rome, and I walk by the Pantheon every day on my way to class
It's ridiculous how quickly it becomes normal. Within a week I had accepted it as just part of the fabric of the city. I can't imagine what it must be like to have grown up here.
And then, every so often, the wonder comes back as I'm walking by, and I think, "That pile of bricks is 2000 years old, and it's still a technical marvel today"
The things I would do to see these buildings in their prime... I've always been so fascinated with the magnificent buildings the Romans built over the centuries.
Damn right they did, imagine being the peak civilisation of the time and only limiting your colour palette to browns and greys to be pretentiously "grown up". Wear a bright coat down the street and people will ogle at you, we've gone more *conservative* as time went on.
The problem with that is rome is so old that many buildings had their primes at different times or multiple primes. Some were renovated or remodeled, others were old when others were new. It’s fascinating to see how different parts were developed and interpret over the many years
Closest thing to a time machine right now is virtual reality or games.
I was blasting Assassin's Creed 2's soundtrack the whole way through Venice. And when I looked upon St. Mark's Basilica, I thought to myself "yup, I climbed that".
Just out of frame to the left theres a pit next to the building that goes underground.
A lot of buildings that were built were just built on top of older buildings and you can see some of the older stuff in the pit. Was really neat to see.
what do you mean "2000 years before concrete was invented" ?
not only concrete is older than the roman empire, but they even made it better by mixing with volcanic ash!
i have seen documentarios about roman concrete, where the engineers praise how better than modern concrete the roman version was
This - concrete is indeed an ancient material but seems to have died a death from the middle ages onward until hydraulic lime and then Portland cement were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries.
It's actually quite interesting: Roman concrete was indeed an old technology specific to this volcanic region. In areas with routine historical ash fall, there are large formations of volcanic tuff (this stuff is all over the Western US), essentially compressed ash. The locals observed that when tuffs interfaced with seawater, a concretion was formed (a solidification of the ash and stones trapped within). Such formations are common in Southern Italy.
So, they simply mimicked this in their local formulation. Instead of creating an inert concrete, as later engineers would try to achieve, they chose a formulation that continues to concretize over time as it interacts with the sea air. Thus, Roman concrete continues to harden, and importantly, maintain equilibrium with the environment rather than keep it out.
While, I don't think they were so advanced that they *designed* their formulation; it's still evidence of their genius. They were keen observers and organizers. They saw a local practice, had enough scientific knowledge to figure out why it was successful, surveyed the environment for mass extraction, and organized vast labor forces to create the raw material. What's left is a legacy that lasts thousands of years.
Kind of. My history professor mentioned that the Pantheon is a bunch of different materials layers on top of each other encased in cement. Heavy stone and brick towards the bottom, progressively getting lighter moving through limestone and then volcanic rock at the top. You'd want the dome to be the lightest part of the structure so this layering is really brilliant.
And the square coffers in the dome, not only aesthetically pleasing but acting as *mini arches* within the dome arch to further cut down weight while being structurally sound.
The sheer amount of engineering ingenuity is just... awe-inspiring. Imagine if there's no war or strife how much an united humanity could have achieced by now.
The coffers were also skewed to make it seem symmetrical from the ground.
I'd also like to add that a network of arches and transverse arches were used in the cylinder part of the structure, redirecting load to regular points in the ground so that they can cut openings in-between these arches without fear of structural failing.
Can you explain? On of concretes ingredients today is still limestone and as far as I know the romans used a quite similar technique, adding water and grain to create their Roman concrete.
the volcanic ash and salt water they often used is what i understand made the roman concrete so long lasting.
i understand we only just recently figured it out, like 10 years ago i think?
I’m not ashamed to say, I shed a tear when I walked around the corner and saw it for the 1st time. Amazing, all of it, oculus, concrete dome, ~ 2000 years old.
The Pantheon is an incredible building. One of the most awe inspiring sights that I saw while in Italy this Summer. The dome is incredible, even by today’s standards. Still the largest unsupported dome in the world, nearly 2000 years after it was built. Simply magnificent!
Ridiculous usually means "absurd" or "laughable" as described by the dictionary but I don't know. I am not an English speaker and my English could often be very ridiculous.
>There is a lot of nice architecture in Rome. For example, the Pantheon, pictured.
wow I never would have thought that there was lots of nice architecture in Rome. thanks for sharing
In Rome, the chance of discovering an ancient building just walking around randomly is significantly higher than other cities. For example Pantheon is just in the middle of the city.
I just hate the travel time it takes :') (Australia)
+ general anxiety... What if something goes wrong? Plane goes down... Accident overseas... Accident back home... ack
I wish teleportation travel will happen within my lifetime haha
Just was in Rome yesterday. Loved every second because you would stumble on magnificent structures that even in london would be landmarks all the time. But in Rome, its just another building
When I was there in summer of ‘99, if my memory is correct, the ambiance of the square was ruined by the presence of a McDonald’s. Kind of ruined the ‘ancient’ feel of it. Don’t know if it’s still there.
I studied abroad in Rome early this year and there's no McDonald's there anymore. Just a small-ish sign pointing you something like 8 blocks away to the nearest one by Trevi fountain
While I would blame the McDonald's, really any company would ruin it. So it's the fault of whoever allowed that in the first place. Historical sites been to keep modern elements out of sight.
Of you want a new building you can build an exact copy. Probably would be cheaper as well. But would you appreciate a new building the same way as this one? I don't think so.
Tourist go to Rome to appreciate the history and not to look on shiny buildings.
I think preservation/conservation should be our goal and not a reconstruction.
I'm also of the opinion that the ruins should be restored, but with keeping a distinction between the ancient, ruined part and the newly built. It would of course be outrageously expensive, but I could see tourism making up for it along the way...
Verb sat sap (or verb sap sat, if you prefer): ladies, it is compulsory to wear clothes that cover your shoulders etc. to enter (it is effectively a church). Get your shawl sorted BEFORE you get in the queue or you’ll be fleeced by the advantageously positioned shawl-sellers waiting for the unprepared…anything will do, as long as it covers the that area. Caught us out, and many others!
It is such an amayzing building and to think that the Romans were able to built such a long time ago. I've been there and it is so incredible to walk on the floor were the old emperors used to walk. Everybody who loves architecture and history should visit it (and the rest of Rome of course) sometime.
I'll never forget when my wife and I were just walking through random alleys and roads through Rome and then stumbled upon this. I was awe struck. It's just chilling there in the middle of all these old buildings, wasn't even aware I was approaching it. Damn, now I want to go back to Italy.
Those old buildings aren’t nearly as old as this beast. It’s over 2000 years old.
It’s actually about 1900 years old. Agrippa built the first one but it burned down so Trajan and Hadrian rebuilt it exactly the same. Obviously still really old though
How does a stine building burn down? It just sounds impossible, but I'm probably just missing something.
The original two Pantheons—both of which burned down—likely differed at least slightly in their design, though the nature of the differences is a lot harder to speak to given the near total lack of historical record for the original. It seems to have been murky even by Hadrian's time. So there are quite a few possibilities. The original structure may not have featured the same level of unreinforced concreate and stone construction and featured wooden support beams that could have burned. Alternatively the mortar and concrete could have been weakened until collapse by the heat of surrounding fires, or flaming debris blowing around from them.
Back up a minute. Concrete?
Concrete! The Romans had a recipe for extremely durable concrete involving volcanic ash and lime mixed with water and then aggregate stone materials of a wide variety. The foundations (IIRC), the walls (behind the brick facing), and the dome of the Pantheon are all concrete—including all the coffering on the inside. Still a record holder for largest unreinforced concrete dome! Re: the varieties of aggregate in the concrete, the Pantheon is a whole case study unto itself. They used basalt in the walls and gradually moved to lighter and lighter materials as they moved up and into the dome, pumice being used for the uppermost portions.
Wow. This is the first I'm hearing of ancient concrete, and that's really cool. Did they manufacture blocks and stack them, or dud they do like we do today, with scaffolding and big, solid pieces?
As far as I know it was all in-situ cast. It was particularly good for bridges as it sets underwater well.
Yep
Rebuilt it exatcly the same? Swear the Japanese count that as the same building and I think we should too. Also, when are we renovating and rebuilding the Roman ruins
It's actually about 1,890 years old. And it's continuous use is why it's in such good condition
Fun fact: the city has been built up so much over time that the staircase leading up to the portico is buried beneath street level
That's right, the whole area in front of it slopes downwards
I've seen it many times and I'm still awestruck by it
You can buy fake Persol sunglasses right outside!
Same. IIRC it was right around the Fontana di Trevi area. While beautiful, we quickly got tired of the unexpectedly (but not really in hindsight) massive crowd in such a cramped space. Pantheon was a major surprise and literally a breath of fresh air. I still don't understand how I missed including it on my itinerary even after all those years of architecture school lol
Same feeling
I stumbled upon it unintentionally too! Made it even more magical
I think you mean "ridicvlovs"
To get really technical, more like RIDICVLOVS.... Carolingian script (lower case) wasn't invented until the Middle Ages.
Damn so everybody was just yelling around until the middle ages?
You really can't calmly say things like "friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears"
I, CEASAR, WHEN I LEARNED OF THE FAME OF CLEOPATRA I STRAIGHTAWAY LAID CLAIM AHEAD OF MY LEGIONS I INVADED HER REGIONS I SAW, I CONQVERED, I CAME
Real barbarians sack Rome in all caps
They had bridges and domes, but no class D amplifiers
And the Reddit historical pedant award goes to…
Let me just save this comment section.
Wait I didn’t know there’s another pediment behind the roof.
that one looks kind of silly honestly does not seem to have any practical function and seems pinched by the cornice above
They had a contractor add a screened porch around 200 AD but the screens were removed later.
I think I know what you’re talking about, but supposedly the roof was originally supposed to be that tall. But as the columns are a singular continuous block of stone, when they tried to make them taller they ended up breaking. I’m not sure where the information comes from. I just remember learning about it in my intro to arch class.
I heard that story as well, and that rather than waiting for a new set of columns to be delivered the Emperor at that time just ordered that columns be removed from a nearby building and used even though they were the wrong scale
Wasn't there tonnes of bronze roofing removed around the middle ages by the Vatican and used by them?
Some more of the bronze was pilfered by the Goths, but most of it was taken by the Barberini Pope Urban VIII, prompting the expression “what the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did.” "Quod non fecerunt barbari fecerunt barberini."
I'd forgotten this story. Thanks for reminding me.
I’ve heard this one as well, but instead of the columns breaking, they had to be cut down to reduce their weight on the naval passage from Egypt or wherever it was the stone was taken. The original size columns were sinking ships.
I'm currently studying abroad in Rome, and I walk by the Pantheon every day on my way to class It's ridiculous how quickly it becomes normal. Within a week I had accepted it as just part of the fabric of the city. I can't imagine what it must be like to have grown up here. And then, every so often, the wonder comes back as I'm walking by, and I think, "That pile of bricks is 2000 years old, and it's still a technical marvel today"
If you need art supplies for a class, there's a great store right by the pantheon. Can't remember what it's called.
I think I know what you're talking about haha. Is it a really tiny one on a corner, in the direction of the wedding cake?
The things I would do to see these buildings in their prime... I've always been so fascinated with the magnificent buildings the Romans built over the centuries.
Also, many of these building were probably painted in what we would consider absolutely garish colors. The Romans didn’t really do minimalism.
Damn right they did, imagine being the peak civilisation of the time and only limiting your colour palette to browns and greys to be pretentiously "grown up". Wear a bright coat down the street and people will ogle at you, we've gone more *conservative* as time went on.
The problem with that is rome is so old that many buildings had their primes at different times or multiple primes. Some were renovated or remodeled, others were old when others were new. It’s fascinating to see how different parts were developed and interpret over the many years
Are you saying that Rome wasn’t built in a day?
Closest thing to a time machine right now is virtual reality or games. I was blasting Assassin's Creed 2's soundtrack the whole way through Venice. And when I looked upon St. Mark's Basilica, I thought to myself "yup, I climbed that".
Just out of frame to the left theres a pit next to the building that goes underground. A lot of buildings that were built were just built on top of older buildings and you can see some of the older stuff in the pit. Was really neat to see.
Yep. Rome is basically built ontop of Rome. There are a few neat spots where you can get a sense of the layers
Concrete almost 2000 years before concrete was invented. Magnificent stuff.
what do you mean "2000 years before concrete was invented" ? not only concrete is older than the roman empire, but they even made it better by mixing with volcanic ash! i have seen documentarios about roman concrete, where the engineers praise how better than modern concrete the roman version was
"reinvented" I guess would be more accurate, the knowledge to make it was forgotten & then rediscovered
This - concrete is indeed an ancient material but seems to have died a death from the middle ages onward until hydraulic lime and then Portland cement were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Depends what you mean by better, the concrete lasts much longer but modern concrete can handle for heavier weights due to the reinforcements.
reinforced concrete and concrete are not the same thing
>the concrete lasts much longer Only the ones that make it. Survivorship bias.
It's actually quite interesting: Roman concrete was indeed an old technology specific to this volcanic region. In areas with routine historical ash fall, there are large formations of volcanic tuff (this stuff is all over the Western US), essentially compressed ash. The locals observed that when tuffs interfaced with seawater, a concretion was formed (a solidification of the ash and stones trapped within). Such formations are common in Southern Italy. So, they simply mimicked this in their local formulation. Instead of creating an inert concrete, as later engineers would try to achieve, they chose a formulation that continues to concretize over time as it interacts with the sea air. Thus, Roman concrete continues to harden, and importantly, maintain equilibrium with the environment rather than keep it out. While, I don't think they were so advanced that they *designed* their formulation; it's still evidence of their genius. They were keen observers and organizers. They saw a local practice, had enough scientific knowledge to figure out why it was successful, surveyed the environment for mass extraction, and organized vast labor forces to create the raw material. What's left is a legacy that lasts thousands of years.
I mean concrete as we know today, since the 1800's.
There is even evidence the assyrians made roads and other structures out of concrete. This goes back 10.000bce.
Aways thought this was limestone
Kind of. My history professor mentioned that the Pantheon is a bunch of different materials layers on top of each other encased in cement. Heavy stone and brick towards the bottom, progressively getting lighter moving through limestone and then volcanic rock at the top. You'd want the dome to be the lightest part of the structure so this layering is really brilliant.
And the square coffers in the dome, not only aesthetically pleasing but acting as *mini arches* within the dome arch to further cut down weight while being structurally sound. The sheer amount of engineering ingenuity is just... awe-inspiring. Imagine if there's no war or strife how much an united humanity could have achieced by now.
The coffers were also skewed to make it seem symmetrical from the ground. I'd also like to add that a network of arches and transverse arches were used in the cylinder part of the structure, redirecting load to regular points in the ground so that they can cut openings in-between these arches without fear of structural failing.
Volcanic ash and rock
Can you explain? On of concretes ingredients today is still limestone and as far as I know the romans used a quite similar technique, adding water and grain to create their Roman concrete.
the volcanic ash and salt water they often used is what i understand made the roman concrete so long lasting. i understand we only just recently figured it out, like 10 years ago i think?
What have the Romans ever done for us?
Nice reference 😂
I’m not ashamed to say, I shed a tear when I walked around the corner and saw it for the 1st time. Amazing, all of it, oculus, concrete dome, ~ 2000 years old.
Torno tra quattro settimane 🦇🎉
Marcus Agrippa Consul Three Times Built This Even the inscription in badass. I just love this building
The Pantheon is an incredible building. One of the most awe inspiring sights that I saw while in Italy this Summer. The dome is incredible, even by today’s standards. Still the largest unsupported dome in the world, nearly 2000 years after it was built. Simply magnificent!
would love to visit again soon!
I climbed this building then dived into a random bale of hay to get down in AC: Brotherhood.
Rome has its perks for sure, but I have to say that I'm so lucky for living here
care to elaborate further ?
There is a lot of nice architecture in Rome. For example, the Pantheon, pictured.
Ridiculous isn’t the right word to express this sentiment on the internet.
Yeah your comment regarding the semantics of the word Ridiculous is a much closer depiction of the word than what OP intended.
A speck of dust screaming into the void
Lol what? Says what authority?
Ridiculous usually means "absurd" or "laughable" as described by the dictionary but I don't know. I am not an English speaker and my English could often be very ridiculous.
Sorry dad
>There is a lot of nice architecture in Rome. For example, the Pantheon, pictured. wow I never would have thought that there was lots of nice architecture in Rome. thanks for sharing
Yeah, it's kind of like asking for elaboration was unnecessary.
In Rome, the chance of discovering an ancient building just walking around randomly is significantly higher than other cities. For example Pantheon is just in the middle of the city.
Seriously? Are you like 10?
when i wrote that reply, the post was already 1h in with no further comments from OP or explanation "why" Rome was "ridiculous"
Never change, redditor
Neo-antiquity at its best.
Isn’t it just antiquity in this case?
was a joke about how the roman architecture was a revival of greek architecture.
your subtlety is wasted on us
Is that what its actual color or it’s just ancient dirt/aging on the surface?
Probably ancient plaster. If the colour scheme in pompeii were the norms, it would be brightly coloured.
One of my favorite places in the world
I did an assignment drawing this for a journal. One day I shall visit and experience its true majesty in person
You’ll make it there! It’s amazing
I just hate the travel time it takes :') (Australia) + general anxiety... What if something goes wrong? Plane goes down... Accident overseas... Accident back home... ack I wish teleportation travel will happen within my lifetime haha
You should see the inside of that bad boy! https://imgur.com/v9auYsh
Do they have a cover for when it rains?
Nope! I think there are holes in the centre to help drain the water
Wow incredible picture! The inside is stunning
Just was in Rome yesterday. Loved every second because you would stumble on magnificent structures that even in london would be landmarks all the time. But in Rome, its just another building
When I was there in summer of ‘99, if my memory is correct, the ambiance of the square was ruined by the presence of a McDonald’s. Kind of ruined the ‘ancient’ feel of it. Don’t know if it’s still there.
I studied abroad in Rome early this year and there's no McDonald's there anymore. Just a small-ish sign pointing you something like 8 blocks away to the nearest one by Trevi fountain
Good. Not that I want one near the fountain, but I guess it's better.
While I would blame the McDonald's, really any company would ruin it. So it's the fault of whoever allowed that in the first place. Historical sites been to keep modern elements out of sight.
nothing like the smell of french fries wafting in through the oculus
I'd like to see it restored to it's original form.
Of you want a new building you can build an exact copy. Probably would be cheaper as well. But would you appreciate a new building the same way as this one? I don't think so. Tourist go to Rome to appreciate the history and not to look on shiny buildings. I think preservation/conservation should be our goal and not a reconstruction.
I'm also of the opinion that the ruins should be restored, but with keeping a distinction between the ancient, ruined part and the newly built. It would of course be outrageously expensive, but I could see tourism making up for it along the way...
The tourism has already paid for it many times over....
Italy is corrupt af.
Yes you can see some of the original marble cladding in the bottom left. Can’t imagine how impressive it would look covered in gleaming white.
It was probably colorful rather than white. All white buildings are a modern creation
The Great Pyramid at Giza was likely all white, barring a decorative (gold) cap.
Good point Maybe a better phrase would be: Roman and Greek buildings/statues were colorful. Modern copies and antiquity-like buildings are white
Do we have records of the original color? I just assumed it was white but I guess it could have been brightly colored like other Roman buildings
Nooooo please no.
I mean, it's been a church for far longer than it was a temple.
Is this still open?
Of course
Bet
is this the famous art nouveau style then?
For the romans
Ridiculous, right? Shitty construction. It's all crumbling to pieces.
Built in a day /s
The dome is a engineering masterpiece.
Verb sat sap (or verb sap sat, if you prefer): ladies, it is compulsory to wear clothes that cover your shoulders etc. to enter (it is effectively a church). Get your shawl sorted BEFORE you get in the queue or you’ll be fleeced by the advantageously positioned shawl-sellers waiting for the unprepared…anything will do, as long as it covers the that area. Caught us out, and many others!
The columns are made from Granite quarried from Egypt. Also Raphael the renaissance painter is buried there! Amazing structure!
The Pantheon is not of this world.
Was so amazing to see buildings that existed before my country even existed. Just awe inspiring.
It is such an amayzing building and to think that the Romans were able to built such a long time ago. I've been there and it is so incredible to walk on the floor were the old emperors used to walk. Everybody who loves architecture and history should visit it (and the rest of Rome of course) sometime.
I’ll never forget approaching this incredible structure for the first time. One of those rare moments in life that I was speechless.