The Pantheon

The Pantheon is a piece of architecture in Rome, Italy constructed under order of the Roman emperor Hadrian between 118 and 128 AD (ignoring the previous building at the site). The Pantheon was one of the first pieces of architecture to utilize concrete, and the strength and lightness of the material allowed for the Pantheon’s design to be revolutionary and very influential in architecture. The Pantheon was originally built as a temple to the gods. In the seventh century it was sanctified and has been used as a church until more recent times, for which it has been serving as a major tourist attraction. The Dome of the Rock is one of the most symbolic and one of the oldest still-standing pieces of architecture in Islamic history. It is located
Despite poor signs of weathering, the Pantheon is the most well-preserved piece of Roman architecture, largely due to its continuous use throughout history.
The architecture and mosaics in the Dome of the Rock are modeled after the Byzantine palaces, churches, and other structures that were around the area. The Dome of the Rock was designed to compete with other religions’ holy buildings and buildings of worship, although the Dome of the Rock was designed to be a shrine rather than a temple, mosque, or other building of worship. In fact, non-muslims were not permitted to be in the area of the Dome of the Rock until the mid-twentieth century, and non-muslim access has since been very
The Dome of the Rock’s wooden dome is about 30 meters above the building’s stone-paved platform. The dome is supported by a circular arcade of four piers and twelve columns, surrounded by an octagonal arcade of eight piers and sixteen columns (Qubbat). The outermost wall is octagonal as well, with the width of each side measuring at eighteen meters and standing eight meters high. This wall, as well as the dome, contains many windows. The lower half of the outside of the structure is made of relatively minimalistic and bare white marble, while the rest is made of vibrant tilework with elaborate and intricate patterns that, from a distance, may appear to be of the color blue, with gold and white trim. The original mosaics on the outside have been damaged over time, but were repaired and then later completely replaced with tiles in the 1500s, while the original interior mosaics largely survived and give off a strong idea of what the original exterior mosaics looked like. The dome itself was originally made of gold, but was later replaced with copper and then aluminum with a gold covering with a tiled pattern. The dome is adorned with an Islamic symbol of a full moon at the very top, which is significant because it is aligned exactly perpendicular to Mecca. The great golden dome has always towered over its landscape and natural surroundings, with all of