The Pantheon

Our first stop was at the Pantheon, built at the behest of Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus as a temple to all (“Pan”) the gods (“theos”) and rebuilt by Hadrian in 126 AD. Unlike most Roman buildings, it is still intact because it became a church dedicated to the martyrs after the fall of Rome, so it has been in continuous use . At 142 feet both high and wide, the dome was the largest in Europe until the Renaissance. Outside is the Macuteo obelisk, one of a pair erected by Ramses II at Heliopolis:

 

  

 

The famous oculus,  27 feet across and the only natural light source:

One of the Stations of the Cross: