Pantheon, Rome

The Pantheon, meaning the temple of all the gods, is a former Roman temple and, since AD 609, a Catholic church (Basilica Santa Maria ad Martyres or Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs) in Rome. It was built on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - AD 14), then after that burnt down, the present building was ordered by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated c. AD 126. Its date of construction is uncertain, because Hadrian chose not to inscribe the new temple but rather to retain the inscription of Agrippa's older temple.
The building is round in plan, except for the portico with large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43 metres (142 ft).
Two kings of Italy are buried in the Pantheon: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto's Queen, Margherita. It was supposed to be the final resting place for the Monarchs of Italy of the House of Savoy, but the Monarchy was abolished in 1946.
Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been the site of several important burials. Among those buried there is the painters Raphael.
The Pantheon is in use as a Catholic church. Masses are celebrated there on Sundays and holy days of obligation. Weddings are also held there from time to time.