Pic(k) of the week 27: Pantheon, Rome
Rome, the capital of Italy, is often regarded as the birthplace of Western civilisation. While the city's history goes back more than 2500 years, the state of some of its buildings varies quite a bit; all the way from ruins to very well maintained prime examples of Roman architecture. One of the best preserved ones is the 2000 year old Pantheon.
The Pantheon, "Temple of all Gods", has been in continuous use throughout its history and has been used as a Roman Catholic church since the 7th century. Until today its 43.3 m diameter dome holds the record for being the largest unreinforced concrete dome.
Until today the role of the Pantheon remains somewhat uncertain. It is however clear, that the way how the sun rays shine through the 8.2m oculus, plays a vital role in the building design.
One day a year, normally April 21st (happens to be my mums birthday), the beam fully illuminates the entrance at midday.
Image details:
Nikon X-E1 with 14 mm 2.8 Fujinon lens
ISO1600, f2.8, 14mm, 1/160s
RAW development in Lightroom 5 including the new radial filter
Nik ColorEfex for contrast adjustment
More of my images of Rome, can be found here.
Remember, "Rome wasn't built in a day"
BJORN
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