Triad of Great Buildings

By Brady McGettigan

Introduction

      This presentation covers a triad . . . really a triumvirate of great buildings, the Pantheon, the Forum, and the Theater of Marcellus.           Additionally, each building is presented in three views! Although triumvirate usually refers to three male leaders, I think of these buildings as having such a powerful presence in Rome that they must have truly influenced the Roman culture just as much as any of their great leaders. 

Pantheon

• Building type: temple• Builder: Emperor Hadrian• Date built: A.D. 118• Materials: marble floor• Location: Rome, Italy• Must know: has an oculus which is the only

source of light, the artist Raphael is buried here, Marcus Agrippa built original building in 27 B.C which was burnt in A.D. 80, rebuilt by Emperor Domitian in burnt again in A.D. 110.

Exterior photo Detail photo of porticoInterior photo of famous oculus with sunbeam

Forum

• Building type: city center• Builder: many• Date built: 100 to 300• Materials; masonry and cut stone• Location: Rome, Italy• Must know: the center of Roman business,

government and religious activity in Rome. The Black Stone is here where Romulus is buried! Did you know that in Latin, forum means “a place out of doors”?

Plan drawingExterior view, northwest

Exterior view, southeast with the Colosseum in the distance!

Theater of Marcellus

• Building type: theater• Builder: Emperor Augustus (dedicated it to his first

son-in-law, Marcellus)• Date built: 13 b.c.• Materials: tufa, travertine, brickwork and plaster• Location: Rome, Italy• Must know: largest theater of the Roman Empire,

could sit 12,000 spectators, owned by the Favvi Family (who later turned it into a fortress and part of it a hotel)

What the theater looked like in Ancient Rome!

What the theater looks like NOW in Rome!

Current exterior photo

Sources:

• Great Buildings: http://www.greatbuildings.com/

• Ancient Rome by Nigel Rodgers• Maps: http://www.roman-empire.net/

maps/rome/pantheon.html