Completed under the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated around AD 126, the Pantheon replaced an earlier temple built by Marcus Agrippa. Hadrian reused Agrippa's inscription on the front, which is why it still bears his name.
A portico of granite Corinthian columns leads into a vast round hall beneath a coffered dome of Roman concrete. At its center, an open oculus lets in the sky. The height to the oculus and the width of the hall are the same, about 142 feet, so a perfect sphere would fit inside. Almost two thousand years later, it remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.
It is one of the best-preserved Roman buildings because it has never stopped being used. Since AD 609 it has been a church, and the painter Raphael is among those buried inside.
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