The Pantheon, Rome, Italy

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"The entrance is an enormous portico with twenty Corinthian columns that originally supported roof trusses (their bronze covering long since removed). This portico is awkwardly joined to the circular cella, a space 142 feet and six inches in diameter and 142 feet high. The bottom half of the cella is a cylinder on which rests a hemispherical dome, with a circular opening or oculus, twenty-seven feet in diameter, a the top to let in light and air ... The conceptual simplicity of the Pantheon's dome-on-drum design should not be mistaken for constructional simplicity. What looks like trabeated construction is in fact a structure based on arches and vaults. Behind the orderly interior columns, veneers, and coffers lies a technical masterpiece, a testament to Roman skill in building with concrete,"--Buildings Across Time: An Introduction to World Architecture, by Michael Fazio, Marian Moffett and Lawrence Wodehouse, 2009.

The Pantheon, Rome, Italy