Roma, parte 2: Il Pantheon

Rome, part 2: The Pantheon

After we left Santo Ignazio, we headed straight to the Pantheon- which is also a church these days (er, these centuries?).

For art…

…for scale.

The Pantheon is a lot bigger than I thought it was! Though I think this can be said for much of Rome.

Also, I must sheepishly admit that I really had no idea what the Pantheon was before I got to Rome. It was a famous ancient landmark, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Well, now I know: it was once an ancient temple to the gods, and now it is a basilica devoted to Mary.

And it is beautiful.

And round.

And full of important deceased people.

Here I am at the door! I wish I had more to say about it, but the whole trip to Rome was very quick and very crowded, so I didn’t have nearly enough time to learn and admire as I would’ve liked.

Also, this was a very, very common view throughout the trip. We had two semi-complete maps, and between us, four relatively inept map readers. We got lost a lot, but we got to see a lot of Rome! And we also got a lot of exercise.

Up next: the Vatican!