To make you curious, a short excerpt from our book «Pantheon, Architecture & Light» which recounts its millennia-old history, where you can discover the building secrets that create the magical illuminations seen on the days of the Solstice.
«The Pantheon has been described several times by ancient authors, starting with Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD, who, however, speaks of the older Pantheon built by Agrippa.
Dio Cassius, writing in the 3rd century AD, instead speaks of the current Pantheon, the one built by Trajan and Hadrian, and says: «The Pantheon, because of its vaulted roof, resembles the celestial vault».
Starting from this clue and observing the movement of the Circle of light created by the dome's oculus, in 1976 Passuello and Dissegna understood that the Pantheon «represented the sky or the celestial vault, since it seems to rotate infinitely around the central point, that is, the man standing in this space».
Today, everyone knows that the Circle of light in the Pantheon indicates the passage of Time and the Seasons, because in winter, and especially during these days of the Winter Solstice, it can be seen high up in the dome».
The Panthein and its Light: find out more in our book!