The Pantheon temple was constructed around 27-25 B.C. by the Roman magistrate Marcus Agrippa. The Pantheon was built to commemorate the victory of Actium over Antony and Cleopatra, but it burned down around 80 A.D.
The Roman Emperor Hadrian rebuilt the Pantheon in 125 A.D. to his own original design. The huge bronze doors of the building open into a circular room capped by a massive dome. The oculus (a hole in the top of the dome) is 27 feet in diameter and is the only source of natural light in the Pantheon.
For 200 years the Pantheon was a functioning temple, and various rites took place in the building. The Pantheon was abandoned for several decades when pagan Rome converted to Christianity. In 609 A.D. the building was consecrated as a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all the Christian martyrs. The Pantheon is still a place of Christian worship.
Two Italian kings, Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, together with the famous artist Raphael, are buried in the Pantheon. The Pantheon was the largest concrete building in the world right up to the 20th Century. The Pantheon doors are solid bronze and weigh 20 tons each.
