Pantheon Hole In The Roof

And he took away from there the bronze tiles and sent them with all the other ornaments to constantinople.

Pantheon hole in the roof.

The pantheon is the best preserved ancient roman monument 4 the most fascinating part of the pantheon is its giant dome with its famous hole in the top the eye of the pantheon or oculus. Holes can still be seen on the pediment of the façade where pagan bronze adornments have been stripped. The pantheon meaning to every god was commissioned as a temple to all the gods of ancient rome and. 5 inside the pantheon are the tombs of the first two kings of italy vittorio emanuele ii and his son umberto i.

There are many reasons given for the hole or oculus in the pantheon you can take your pick of an architectural device a means to let in light and air a sundial or an opening to allow the sun. The dome was the largest in the world for 1300 years and until today it remains the largest unsupported dome in the world. From above the pantheon s 19 foot oculus the hole at the top of the dome is an obvious opening to the elements. When it rains does water enter the hole in the roof of the pantheon.

The name comes from greek the word pantheon is is derived from the ancient greek words pan all and theos god. Most believe however that the hole in its roof is a testament to rome s warm climate. Remaining at rome twelve days he pulled down everything that in ancient times had been made of metal for the ornament of the city to such an extent that he even stripped off the roof of the church of the blessed mary which at one time was called the pantheon and had been founded in honour of all the gods and was now by the consent of the former rulers the place of all the martyrs. The most frequently asked question about the pantheon continues to be if it rains inside through the hole in the roof.

It allows sunlight into the temple room below it but also allows rain to the interior which is why the marble floor below curves outward to drain the water. Pantheon rome wikipedia a lot of the reason was actually to reduce the weight of and the stress on the dome.