The Pantheon for me. Nothing has ever achieved that balance again between impressive engineering exploit (it’s dome is still the biggest ever built without using steel concrete), and an absolutely unique architecture. The light coming through the oculus determines everything. It’s a building with an interior space, and yet, the sunshine, the rain, the snow, whatever, comes down from the outside.
The Romans constructed loads of aqueducts, temples, bridges, stadia and what not, but only one Pantheon. The Pont du Gard for instance is wonderful, but only one example of many other similar aqueducts built at the time. The Pantheon on the other hand is unique in every way you look at it. Never before or after that, something similar has been built again. For me, it largely surpasses the pyramids, the Greek temples, the cathedrals or any other human construction on earth.
Depending on the time you visit that building, on the season, on the weather and the light conditions, the experience will be completely different. I’ve been there at least ten times, and being in that space has always been something different.
The building was constructed roughly 1900 years ago, but this special inner room is still there, in its unadulterated, unique beauty. I don’t think there is anything comparable on earth to be fair.
Yip the pantheon is a pretty cool building,
But 1 of the reasons it’s still in great shape,
Is that the leaders in christianity maintained it and kept it in good health.
Absolutely. That’s one reason to be grateful for the catholic church. The catholic authorities resolved the problem by transforming the building into a christian church, freeing up the means to protect and entertain it. Other buildings in the city weren’t so lucky.
On the other hand, you could also say that its unique quality couldn’t be ignored by anyone, not even the catholic church. Even the barbarians who repeatedly invaded Rome during the early middle ages let it in peace, while they destroyed everything in sight otherwise.
You were supposed to come and collect them 4,000 years ago. If we set off the storage costs shall we call it quits? After all, they haven’t really worked properly for 3,000 years.
The fact that they stripped all the marble off everything to build something so at odds with JC’s teachings (St Peter’s) is one of the world’s greatest insanities.
For another thread though.
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul looks immense, on the list.
The Floridians are just compensating for Walt not building it 