View from the Pantheon gates
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
View from the Pantheon gates
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
The Piazza della Rotonda from the gates of Agripa's Pantheon, Rome.
Night view of the square and the fountain in front of Agripa's Pantheon.
Probably my favorite building of the Imperial Rome, and one of the best preserved. Pantheon, means all the Gods, was a temple to honor all the Roman deities, and then some. It was later turned into a Christian church, which is the reason why it has reached our days so well preserved.
Roman temples were always built some 5-10 meters high (as seen in the Forum) and were reached through a frontal staircase. Classical Rome is buried underneath the current city and therefore the Pantheon stands level with the street now, and you can see the structure of the dome behind, but that was not the case in the past. The result was that you would see the Pantheon like in this picture, without any clue that what expected you behind the huge door was not a classical rectangular space, but a domed circular plant. It was meant to be awe-striking and considering the impression you get now knowing where you are going, it had to be more than so.
The way the dome of the Pantheon was built remains a mystery and baffled architects of centuries after. Michelangelo, when he built the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica, designed the new one one meter narrower than the ancient Roman as a token of respect, so this one remained the biggest dome in the world. So did Brunelleschi, 2 meters smaller this time, in Florence. If you follow the curvature of the dome inside the building you obtain a perfect sphere that just touches the ground.
It's only fair to remark that Agripa's original Pantheon, built in 27 BC, was made of wood and totally burned. This magnificent structure we see now was built by Hadrian, although it honors Agripa.
More Roman images in my Roman Gallery https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/weston-westmoreland.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=392464&page=1
You can learn more about what drives me in my blog:
http://inspiringthoughtsandimages.com/
Weston Westmoreland.
Uploaded
September 24th, 2017
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