The Pantheon, on Piazza della Rotonda, is the best-preserved monument of ancient Rome: a temple rebuilt under Emperor Hadrian around 118-125 and turned into a church in 609 as Santa Maria ad Martyres. It is open daily from 9am to 7pm (last entry 6:30pm); since 1 July 2026 a ticket costs €7, and entry remains free for under-18s, residents of the city of Rome and during Mass. Allow 30 to 45 minutes. Under the dome, the oculus open to the sky lights the whole rotunda, and several tombs, including Raphael's, line the side chapels.
Highlights
The dome and the oculus
The concrete dome is 43.30 m in diameter, exactly the height from the floor to its top: a perfect sphere would fit inside the rotunda. The oculus, about 9 m across and never glazed, is the only source of light; when it rains, water falls into the church and drains through small holes in the marble floor.
The portico and Piazza della Rotonda
Sixteen granite columns support the pediment, which bears the inscription "M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT": Hadrian kept the name of Marcus Agrippa, who had built the first Pantheon in 27 BC. In front, Giacomo Della Porta's fountain (1575) is topped by an Egyptian obelisk added in 1711.
Raphael's tomb
The painter, who died in 1520, asked to be buried in the Pantheon. His sarcophagus, below a Madonna carved by Lorenzetto, bears the Latin epitaph written by Pietro Bembo. The nearby chapels hold the tombs of the Italian kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, and of Queen Margherita.
A working church
Pope Boniface IV consecrated the temple to Christian worship in 609, which explains why it survived. Mass is celebrated on Saturdays and the eve of public holidays at 5pm, and on Sundays and public holidays at 10.30am; entry is then free for worshippers, and ticket sales stop one hour before each service.
Opening hours and prices
Open daily from 9am to 7pm, last entry at 6:30pm. Full price: €7 since 1 July 2026 (€5 since the ticket was introduced in July 2023); reduced price €2 for 18-25 year-olds. Free for under-18s, residents of the city of Rome, for everyone on the first Sunday of the month and during religious services. Tickets on the official Musei Italiani portal (website and app), at the ticket desks and at the machines in front of the monument; there is no skip-the-line ticket.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Buy your ticket on the Musei Italiani portal or at the official ticket office in front of the portico: resellers offering pricier "Pantheon tickets" are actually selling a guided tour or an audio guide. On the first Sunday of the month, free tickets are collected on site without booking, up to the hourly capacity, and queues are longer. Prices checked in October 2026.
How to get there
Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Rome. No metro station right nearby: Barberini – Fontana di Trevi and Spagna (line A) are about a 15-minute walk away. Buses 40 and 64, Largo di Torre Argentina stop, a 5-minute walk away.
Opening hours
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