Best Pantheon Day Trips & Things to Do

The wonderfully-preserved and often-copied Roman architectural treasure is said to have been first built between 27-25 BC on the site where the city's founder Romulus was collected by eagles and taken up to the gods after his death. After being damaged by two fires, the Pantheon was reconstructed between 118-125 AD under the Emperor Hadrian. It is the world's biggest masonry dome with a diameter of 142 feet and is dominated by its large Corinthian columns. The Pantheon has housed a Catholic church since the 7th Century and still occasionally has masses. Artist Michelangelo studied the building and likened its construction to the work of angels and not men.