The Pantheon Research Paper

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Pages: 2

a continuous surface that shaped liquid mortar into the desired vault (Anderson, Curtis, Van Keuren 60). This technique was employed as early as the Flavian era. The Pantheon engineers also used different material wisely to reduce to weight of the dome, thinning the thickness of the shell from 5.9 meters to 1.5 meters at the oculus: the heaviest material (travertine and tufa) is at the bottom of the dome, lightest overlay of pumice at the upper dome. The theme of the Pantheon’s interior is full of circles and squares such as the checkerboard floor and the square coffers. The Pantheon consists of many niches, frescoes, and chapels due to Christian modification, such as fresco of Annunciation. Right underneath the dome is the independent frieze covered with false windows. In addition, one can easily find many beautiful Corinthian columns in the …show more content…
The interior of the Basilica of San Vitale, like the Pantheon, is magnificent. Visitors would be impressed by the grandeur of the space, the complexity of the details, and the elegance of the mosaics. The top of the dome is ninety feet tall (Hayes 430). There are Greek marble columns and piers with different sizes erect in the church (Hayes 430). The capitals are not uniform, like those in the Pantheon. These columns have Christian images on the capital, like the Lamb of God, and crosses. The church’s most famous attraction is the mosaics of Justinian, Theodora, and God at the eastern end. Right above the three windows (the light source that makes the mosaics glisten) is the image of Christ on an orb, above all the universe, between the two angels, holding the Book of Apocalypse in one hand, handling the crowd to San Vitale in his other hand. On the other side of the mosaics is Ecclesius, the founder of the church, handing the church to