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Every year at Pentecost, a shower of red rose petals falls through the great oculus of the Pantheon and drifts down onto the marble floor — a tradition at least seven centuries old, and only possible because of what this building is. The Pantheon began as a temple to every Roman god, rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian around 126. But the truly astonishing thing is the dome: at forty-three metres across, it was the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built, and no one repeated the feat for over a thousand years. The secret lies in the mix — heavy basalt at the base, light pumice at the top — and in that single circular hole, the oculus, which both supports the dome’s weight and lets the column of light sweep the inner walls. The Renaissance architect Brunelleschi cut it open to study, and borrowed its technique for the dome of Florence’s cathedral.
Rome audio guide
Tella is a free audio guide for any place on Earth. Here are 30 places in Rome worth a story. Open one on the map and hear it read aloud in English, or take the Android app on a walk and let it narrate whatever you pass.
Places worth a story
Sistine Chapel
chapel in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
Listen on the map → Photo: The original uploader was Snowdog at Italian Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sapienza University of Rome
Italian university founded in Rome in 1303
Archbasilica of St. John Lateran
cathedral in Rome, Italy
Apostolic Palace
official residence of the Pope in Vatican City
Listen on the map → Photo: Daderot · CC0
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
largest Catholic Marian church in Rome
Castel Sant'Angelo
castle and museum in Rome, formerly the imperial mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian and subsequent Roman emperors
Listen on the map → Photo: Livioandronico2013 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls
church in Rome, Italy
Metropolitan City of Rome
Italian metropolitan city
Listen on the map → Photo: [[User:Ilocos.com ` LocalGuidesConnect.com°]] · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quirinal Palace
historic building in Rome, Italy; official residence of the President of the Italian Republic
Listen on the map → Photo: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder . Feel free to use my photos, but plea… · CC BY-SA 3.0
Arch of Constantine
triumphal arch in Rome
Listen on the map → Photo: NikonZ7II (Paris Orlando) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Laocoön and His Sons
sculpture in the Museo Pio-Clementino
Capitoline Museums
municipal museum of the city of Rome, Italy
Listen on the map → Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0
Capitoline Wolf
bronze sculpture of a she-wolf suckling twin infants, inspired by the founding legend of Rome, on display in the Capitoline Museums, Rome
Listen on the map → Photo: CC0
Altare della Patria
monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Arch of Titus
triumphal arch in Rome (constructed c. 81 AD)
Listen on the map → Photo: Jebulon · CC0
Baths of Caracalla
public baths in ancient Rome
Università degli Studi ''Guglielmo Marconi''
university in Rome, Italy
Temple of Vesta
ancient religious monument in Rome, Italy
Church of the Gesù
church in Rome, Italy, and precursor of the Baroque style
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Stories are written by an AI from public map and encyclopaedia data and may contain mistakes.