When in Rome: Beautiful Must See places of Rome, Italy
The Pantheon
The Pantheon is one of Rome’s most iconic landmarks, originally constructed between 27 and 25 BC during the third consulship of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. His name remains inscribed on the building’s portico, reading: M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT (“Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built this.”)
The building’s structure is remarkable: a circular rotunda connected to a rectangular entrance by a portico of granite Corinthian columns. The highlight is the immense concrete dome, featuring a central oculus (also known as the “Great Eye”) that remains open to the sky. This oculus, nearly 30 feet wide, serves as the sole source of natural light and an engineering marvel of the ancient world.
Originally, the portico displayed statues of Caesar, Augustus, and Agrippa. Though the gold-plated bronze doors remain today, the gold has long vanished. Clues of a decorative bronze sculpture showing the Battle of the Titans can still be seen through the clamp holes in the pediment. Visitors are drawn not only by the architecture but also by the temple’s interior artwork and serene garden.
The Roman Colosseum
The Roman Colosseum, one of the world’s most recognized arenas, gets its name from a colossal statue of Emperor Nero that once stood nearby. Later emperors altered the statue to resemble the sun god Sol, replacing Nero’s head with their own. Eventually, the bronze statue disappeared, possibly melted down in the Middle Ages.
The Colosseum is massive: 48 meters high, 188 meters long, and 156 meters wide, with 80 arches on each of its first three levels. Over 100,000 cubic meters of travertine stone were used in its construction. Inside, a wooden arena floor measuring 86 by 54 meters once held gladiatorial battles and dramatic performances. Its elliptical shape was designed to keep performers in action and to bring spectators closer to the event.
The Temple of Venus and Rome
Located near the Colosseum at the eastern edge of the Roman Forum, the Temple of Venus and Rome is the largest known temple in ancient Rome. Emperor Hadrian designed the structure, with construction beginning in 121 AD. While Hadrian inaugurated it in 135, it was completed by Antoninus Pius in 141.
Measuring 110 meters in length and 53 meters in width, the temple stood atop a platform 145 by 100 meters. It featured two main chambers or cellae, each housing a statue: Venus Felix, the goddess of love and good fortune, and Roma Aeterna, the personification of eternal Rome. These chambers were positioned back-to-back — Venus’s facing east toward the Colosseum, and Roma’s facing west toward the Forum.
This harmonious symmetry and the temple’s grandeur made it a powerful representation of Rome’s imperial identity and divine favor.