. The life of the Greeks and Romans. widestled to the entrance-door, each of the two others being terminatedby an enormous niche. Not to mention aesthetical considerations,these columns were required as props of the roof covering thisvast space (the portico is about 100 feet long). The columns of the portico (one of the capitals is shown, Fig, Y 322 THE PANTHEON IN ROME. 328) carried beams, on the frieze of which the following inscrip-tion in large letters has been placed : MAGRIPPALF-COS-TERTIUM-FECIT. Another inscription below this one, insmaller characters, states the bnilding to have been
. The life of the Greeks and Romans. widestled to the entrance-door, each of the two others being terminatedby an enormous niche. Not to mention aesthetical considerations,these columns were required as props of the roof covering thisvast space (the portico is about 100 feet long). The columns of the portico (one of the capitals is shown, Fig, Y 322 THE PANTHEON IN ROME. 328) carried beams, on the frieze of which the following inscrip-tion in large letters has been placed : MAGRIPPALF-COS-TERTIUM-FECIT. Another inscription below this one, insmaller characters, states the bnilding to have been restoredby Septimius Severus and Caracalla. The beams carry a largepediment, originally adorned with groups of statues representingJupiters victories over the Gigantes. Behind and above thisgable rises a second one of the same proportions, serving as anornament of the projecting wall which connects the roundbuilding with the portico (see also plan, Fig. 344). The roof ofthe portico was supported by beams made of brass. According to. Fig. 343. the drawing of Serlio, these beams were not massive, but consistedof brass plates riveted together into square pipes—a principlefrequently applied by modern engineers on a larger scale inbuilding bridges, &c. Unfortunately, the material of the roof,barring some of the large rivets, has been used by Pope UrbanVIII. for guns and various ornaments of doubtful taste inSt. Peters Cathedral. The large columns carrying the uglytabernacle on the grave of St. Peter are one of the results of thisbarbarous spoliation. The old door, also made of brass, whichleads from the portico into the interior has, on the contrary, beenpreserved. The outer appearance of the round building is simple THE PANTHEON IN ROME. 323 and dignified. It most likely was originally covered with stuccoand terra-cotta ornaments, of which, however, little remains atpresent; but the simple bricks, particularly in the upper stripes,where the insertion of the vault becomes visible,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherlondonchapmanandha
