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The Pantheon is the best preserved monument of ancient Rome. It was first built by Marcus Agrippa who was the son in law of Augustus. It originally was a temple that was dedicated to the seven planetary gods. It was damaged by a fire and rebuilt by Hadrian in 125 AD and his changes are what we see today. In 609 AD the Byzantine Emperor Phocas gave the temple to Pope Boniface IV who changed it into the Church of Santa Maria dei Martiri.
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| The interior of the Pantheon is green and white
marble and the exterior is brick. It has a 30-foot opening at the top of its
dome through which sunlight and rain enter. Its floor slopes toward the center
where drains catch the rain water. The opening at the top of the Pantheon's dome
was an impressive achievement for the Roman engineers who constructed the
Pantheon.
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