Day 1 — Pantheon
I’ve just arrived in the ancient city of Rome!
Our hotel is a stone’s throw from the Pantheon. The Pantheon!—one of the world's most well-preserved ancient Roman structures that’s managed to survive almost 2,000 years of barbaric raids whilst the majority of Roman monuments crumbled to the ground.
Not only has it remained physically intact, it’s adapted to the transitional religious and political landscapes throughout history—all the while continuing to amaze and inspire artists, architects and designers alike with it’s magnificent and mystifying form and function.
Probably the most impressive of it’s features is the architecture—specifically, the giant unsupported concrete dome. From the outside, the structure is quite striking; thick brick walls, large marble columns—it has an immediate impression on it’s visitors. Although either of the five vias leading to the piazza della Rotonda would provide an excellent exterior vantage point, it’s impossible to get the full effect of the Pantheon’s true phenomena until you’re inside. A generous beam of light protrudes from the oculus, illuminating the geometric concaves and convexes of the cylindrical interior walls. As Michelangelo once said, it looks more like the work of angels than of humans. I’m getting ahead of myself.