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Pantheon in Rome, Information and Official Guided Tours, and Tickets to Visit The Best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient Temples. Exclusive Private Tours in Rome

An excellent walking tour in Rome can start at Piazza Della Rotonda, the “Rotonda” being the Pantheon, the best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient monuments. The Pantheon, originally dedicated to the seven planetary gods, was built in 27 BC by Marcus Agrippa. It was burned down in AD 80 and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian around AD 120, then restored by the emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla. In AD 606, it was Christianized as Santa Maria ad Martyres. The Barberini Pope is said to have removed its original bronzed portico to make the great Baldacchino (canopy) over the altar at St. Peter’s. Because of this, the Roman bons mots, “Quod non-fecerunt-barbari-fecerunt-Barberini“(What the barbarians didn’t do, the Barberini did). Rome Private Tours.

Pantheon in Rome, Information about Official Guided Tours, Tickets to Visit The Best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient Temples.

Pantheon in Rome, Information and Official Guided Tours, and Tickets to Visit The Best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient Temples. Exclusive Pantheon Tours in Rome

Pantheon in Rome, Information about Official Guided Tours, Tickets to Visit The Best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient Temples.

Approach this monument from the west to enjoy the natural chiaroscuro of the narrow Via del Seminario in the early morning, when ancient walls and paving stones (washed early each morning) send up swirls of chilly air to mix with the warming rays of the sun. Palazzo San Marcato on your left, guarded by soldiers in glass cubicles,

Archaeologists are excavating a 100-square-foot area beneath the palazzo, which they believe was the site of a famous temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis, whose worship was brought to Rome from Alexandria by Roman soldiers and merchants. The cult became important, and the temple was erected, probably in the time of Julius Caesar. Emperor Augustus had it shut down because it attracted undesirables, and his successor,

The cult became important, and the temple was erected, probably in the time of Julius Caesar. Emperor Augustus had it shut down because it attracted undesirables, and his successor,

Tiberius had the goddess’s images tossed into the Tiber.

Pantheon in Rome, Information about Official Guided Tours, Tickets  | Nevertheless, three succeeding emperors, beginning with Caligula, rebuilt and expanded. The canyon-like street opens onto the sun-drenched, open Piazza Della Rotonda – people-size and free of automobiles. Rival cafés have staked out their sides of the square with tables and chairs; they’ll do a brisk business all day and evening.

 Caffè di Rienzo, the neo-baroque temple of plastic, marble, and Venetian glass on the Piazza Della Rotonda (see Bars and Cafés in THE CITY), has a plush tearoom, perfect for a rainy day. Linger outdoors over a first or second breakfast of cappuccino and a cornetto, a slightly sweet crescent roll on a sunny morning. Locals gravitate to Café Tazza d’Oro (no tables, however) for the sinfully rich iced coffee and whipped cream confection called granita di caffè.

 

Pantheon in Rome, Information about Official Guided Tours, Tickets to Visit The Best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient Temples.

People go about daily business with casually affectionate disregard for the majestic 2,000-year-old Pantheon, a temple to the gods and the final resting place of Raphael and the first two Kings of Italy. Today, children have roller skate races by it, and tourists sunbathe on the steps of the newly restored fountain. The fountain’s base supports a 20-foot-tall Egyptian obelisk dedicated to Ramses II, designed by Giacomo Della Porta and erected by Pope Gregory XIII.

Pantheon in Rome, Information about Official Guided Tours, Tickets to Visit The Best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient Temples.

This neighborhood of shops, restaurants, parliamentary office buildings (identified by the glass-cage guard posts outside), fantastic coffee bars, and some ornately decorated ice cream parlors. After paying the bill for your cappuccino, take the Via Della Minerva to the small Piazza.

Minerva, directly behind the Pantheon (one square leads into the other). In this adjacent square, amid a crush of ingeniously parked cars, stands a charming marble elephant wearing an expression that may be whimsical or wearisome, depending on the eye of the beholder. On its back is another Egyptian obelisk brought to Rome in ancient days.

Pantheon in Rome, Information about Rome Official Guided Tours, Tickets to Visit The Best-preserved of all Rome’s ancient Temples.

The work of sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the pachyderm, was a rarity in Rome. So why did he sculpt one? His friends explained that he was fresh from an unsatisfactory work period in Paris and wanted to express his sense of holding the world’s weight on his back. Others have said that it references Pope Alexander VII’s reign and is supposed to symbolize intelligence as the basis of all wisdom.

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