Rome: Pantheon Square

The Pantheon is the building of ancient Rome which has been preserved best down to the present day, and is a true masterpiece of architecture. The name of Agrippa, which can still be read on the façade, remembers the son-in-law of the Emperor Augustus, who first built this temple dedicated "to all the gods". The present-day Pantheon however, completely different from the original, is the work of the Emperor Hadrian, who rebuilt the monument in the early 2nd century, keeping only the ancient inscription out of modesty.

In the 6th century the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who turned it into the present church of Sancta Maria ad Martyres.
For the solemn consecration of the church, the pope had 28 cartloads of bones of martyrs brought from the catacombs, putting them underneath the altar. During the ceremony, as the notes of the Gloria were struck, the Romans saw swarms of devils rise up and fly out the hole in the dome.
The most amazing characteristic of the building is the exceptional covering dome. It is the largest dome ever created out of concrete: it measures 43.30 m in diameter and is greater than that of the dome of St. Peter's!The entire building is conceived as a perfect geometric figure: a sphere inserted in a cylinder. The diameter of the sphere coincides with the height of the cylinder. The dome, created with different materials, increasingly lighter as they go upwards, ends with a large open "eye", of a diameter of 9 metres. Through this opening enters the rain, which is conveyed into the drains visible on the pavement.

The Pantheon today is the sanctuary of the kings of Italy: in fact it holds the tombs of Victor Emmanuel II, Humbert I and Margherita di Savoia.

In an ancient sarcophagus there is also the tomb of Raphael. On the cover of the sarcophagus are inscribed the two Latin verses that Pietro Bembo wrote for the famous artist: This is Raphael: living, great Nature feared he might outvie Her works, and dying, fears herself may die.

If you have time for a short pause, we suggest you have a coffee or a coffee ice ("granita") with whipped cream at the Tazza d'Oro coffee shop, at the corner of Via dei Pastini. Gastronomical delicacies can be purchased at the Rossi delicatessen at Piazza della Rotonda 4.

Enjoy the Pantheon and Piazza della Rotonda (expecially by night!)

Amarcord bed and breakfast Rome

Rome: Capitolium Square

Piazza del Campidoglio situated on the Capitoline Hill, which has always been the privileged seat of divinity and power.

Although it is the lowest and least extensive of the Seven Hills of Rome, in the early 6th century B.C. there stood the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus, by far the most important temple of ancient Rome. Near the present-day church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli was, instead, the Temple of Juno Moneta.

It was precisely in the Temple of Juno Moneta, i.e. "exhorter, admonisher", that the first mint of Rome was established, and the goddess's epithet later gave rise to the Italian word "moneta", to mean "coin".

In 390 B.C. the Gauls, commanded by King Brennus, stormed into Rome, crossing the Capitoline Hill, but the sacred geese of Juno, kept here, started squawking. The Romans, awakened by the noise of the animals, were thus able to repel the assailants.

During the Middle Ages the summit of the hill, partially abandoned, leading it to be called Monte Caprino after the goats grazing there, was the site of a marketplace.

In the market the measure for wine was the inside of an ancient column drum, while that for wheat (the ruggitella) was the urn of the ashes of the Empress Agrippina.

The square, as an actual urbanistic element, was created only starting in 1538, when Pope Paul III entrusted its arrangement to Michelangelo. Michelangelo designed the lovely star-shaped pavement pattern, the façade of the Palazzo Senatorio, the seat of the City of Rome since 1143, and the two palaces embracing the square, today the renovated seat of the Capitoline Museums, the oldest museums in the world.

The equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, of which a faithful copy can be seen in the centre of the square and the original is in the museums, managed to pass unharmed through the Middle Ages, a period when metals were melted down and reused, only thanks to a misunderstanding: the popes, who were its owners until the 15th century, had identified the person depicted as Constantine, the first Christian emperor. Legend has it that when the screech-owl between the horse's ears will hoot, the end of the world will arrive. This event seems to be very far off, however, considering that the owl is, in reality, a tuft of the horse's mane!

A new passageway connects Piazza del Campidoglio to the Terraces of the Vittoriano which offer a breath taking view of the city. The monument, devoted to the first king of Italy Victor Emmanuel II, and, since 1921, to the Unknow Soldier, includes the Museum of the Risorgimento and the Sanctuary of the Flags. It is entirely accessible to the public.

Enjoy this square!

Amarcord bed and breakfast Rome