Rome Pantheon

The first temple here was built by Marcus Agrippa in the reign of Augustus, and his name is still on the façade: M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT. The building you see today, however, was completed under Emperor Hadrian around AD 126. On 13 May 609 Pope Boniface IV consecrated it as a church, Santa Maria ad Martyres, which is why it survived so well; it is still a Catholic church where mass is held on Sundays.

Step from the portico of granite Corinthian columns into the rotunda and look up. The dome is exactly as wide as the room is high, and the oculus at its top, about nine metres across, is the only source of light; when it rains, water falls straight through onto the sloping marble floor and drains away. Along the walls are the tombs of the painter Raphael and of the Italian kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I and Queen Margherita.

On Tiqets you can choose a fast-track ticket, a fast-track ticket with a guided tour, or walking tours that include the Pantheon together with the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona. A combined skip-the-line ticket with Castel Sant'Angelo is also available.

The Pantheon stands on the Piazza della Rotonda in the historic centre, within walking distance of Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain. Mornings are quieter; as it is a church, dress respectfully and expect it to close for services.