Pantheon, Rome

The construction of the Pantheon is circular, and the façade has a monumental entrance, with a portico with three rows of large granite Corinthian columns and a pediment, following the model of the ancient Greek temples. On the pediment, the following inscription is carved: "M[arcus].Agrippa.L[ucii].f[ilius].co[n]s[ul].tertium.fecit", meaning "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time". The interior is round, built in marble and covered by a dome, which is perhaps its most recognizable feature. The light comes through an open, round laminator called the Oculus, allowing the rain to fall inside the building, and the floor is built with a slope so the water flows into the drainage system. The most famous artwork housed in Pantheon is the "Annunciation" by Melozzo da Forlì, located in the Chapel of the Annunciation, which is the first chapel on the right. On the right wall is the "Incredulity of St Thomas" (1633) by Pietro Paolo Bonzi. The high altars and the apses were designed by Alessandro Specchi, and the choir was designed and built to Luigi Poletti in 1840. There are a number of other notable artworks here. On the first niche to the left of the entrance is an Assumption (1638) by Andrea Camassei, in the third niche on the right there is the sculpture called the "St Anne and the Blessed Virgin" by Il Lorenzone, and in the last niche on the right there is a statue of Saint Anastasio (1725) by Bernardino Cametti. In the Chapel of St Joseph in the Holy Land, which is the first chapel on the left, there are two paintings (1661) by Francesco Cozza: "Adoration of the Shepherds" on left and "Adoration of the Magi" on the right. On the vault, there are several 17th-century canvases, from left to right: "Cumean Sibyl" by Ludovico Gimignani, "Moses" by Francesco Rosa, "Eternal Father" by Giovanni Peruzzini, and "David" by Luigi Garzi. Several famous people were buried in Pantheon: King Victor Emmanuel II in a chapel, Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia, in the opposite chapel, painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi.