1 Campidoglio
2 Castel Sant'Angelo
3 Colosseum (Colosseo)
4 Palazzo Barberini
5 Pantheon
6 Piazza Navona
7 Roman Forum (Foro Romano)
8 San Clemente
9 Sistine Chapel & Vatican Museums
10 St Peter's (San Pietro)
Its massive circular interior, lit only by a round opening in the roof, is one of the most awe-inspiring sights of Rome.
Do not be misled by the inscription, Agrippa fecit, over its portals. Agrippa built an earlier version of this temple to all the gods but what we see today was erected by Emperor Hadrian in the early 1st century AD and, in spite of losing many of its opulent trimmings over the centuries, it remains much as he would have remembered it.
The dome is a semi-sphere 43.5m in diameter with walls 6m thick, it was constructed by pouring concrete over a wooden framework. Originally the roof was covered with bronze cladding which was stripped off by Constantine II in the 7th century to decorate Constantinople and, 1,000 years later, Bernini took the remaining bronze from the roof beams to build the canopy (baldacchino) in St Peter's. Its huge bronze doors, however, have survived since Roman times. The ornate marble floor is a 19th-century reconstruction of the original design and the interior has been cleaned and touched up to restore its subtly vibrant colours. It was one of the first Roman temples to be converted into a church (by Pope Boniface IV when Emperor Phocas donated the building to him; consecrated 609) and over the centuries several leading Italians, including the painter Raphael, have been buried here.Address: Piazza della Rotonda
Phone: 06 6830 0230
Open: Mon-Sat 9-6:30, Sun 9-1
Bus: 119 to Piazza della Rotonda; 44, 64, 70, 75, 81 to Largo di Torre Argentina
Accessible: Few
Admission: Free
Practical: Sometimes used for concerts and special services
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