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Rome’s Pantheon to start charging visitors next May

Visitors to Rome's Pantheon, an ancient temple-turned-church, will have to pay to visit the site from May next year, Italy's culture ministry announced on Monday.

Published: 12 December 2017 10:23 CET
Rome's Pantheon to start charging visitors next May
Tourists visiting the Pantheon. Photo: Gabriel Buoys/AFP

Tickets will cost €2 and will be introduced on May 2nd, 2018, so locals and those planning to visit the capital before then still have a chance to visit the site for free. And even after the fees have been introduced, it will still be possible to attend religious services at the Pantheon without paying.

The decision to charge visitors was first mooted in September last year, as The Local reported at the time, in order to help cover the high running costs of the monument — one of the few ancient Roman sites in the capital which had not already introduced a fee.

On Monday, the ministry confirmed that the revenue generated by the fee would go towards “development and protection of the monument, maintenance and guaranteeing increased security during visits”.

READ ALSO: Woman arrested for damaging Pantheon's ancient candelabra

The Pantheon was built over 2,000 years ago on the orders of Emperor Hadrian, and last year almost eight million people visited the monument.

It started out as a pagan temple, and is one of the best preserved ancient Roman monuments, mainly because it was turned into a church in 609 AD.

One of the building's most intriguing features is the oculus, a 30-foot opening built into the dome which illuminates the entrance with a beam of natural light. The dome was the largest in the world until the 15th century, and is still the biggest un-reinforced concrete dome ever constructed.

The Pantheon also contains the tombs of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of united Italy, his successor, Umberto I, and the Renaissance artist and architect Raphael.

READ ALSO: Ten must-see places within reach of Rome

Ten must-see places within reach of Rome

Photo: Alessandro Bovini

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Did you know: Rome wasn’t Italy’s first capital city?

With its prestigious history, famous landmarks and breathtaking art, Rome is known all over the world as Italy's capital. But was it always that way?

Published: 8 March 2024 15:55 CET
Did you know: Rome wasn't Italy's first capital city?

Rome is often one of the first cities to crop up when thinking of European capitals, and it’s easy to see why: its multiple treasures, including the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona, make it one of the most instantly recognisable cities in Europe, if not in the world.

But Rome hasn’t always been Italy’s capital.

In fact, there have been two Italian capitals other than the Eternal City since Italy’s Unification in 1861: Turin and Florence.

Currently the capital of Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region, Turin’s tenure as the country’s capital was fairly short-lived.

The northern city first became capital of the Kingdom of Savoy in 1559, it then became the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1713 and eventually it became capital of the Kingdom of Italy on March 17th 1861, the day that marked the country’s unification.

Turin, Italy

A view of the Mole Antonelliana, one of Turin’s most recognisable landmarks. Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP

By 1865 however, Turin had already lost its capital status to Florence. 

The transition wasn’t exactly smooth though as the local population took to the streets to rebel against the decision on September 21st 1864. What followed is now known as the Turin massacre, in which around 60 civilians were killed.

Florence’s capital status was not long-lived either as in February 1871 – just six years after the transfer to the Tuscan city – Rome formally became the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

That’s not all however: a small town in southwestern Sicily claims to have been the first Italian capital as it was supposedly proclaimed so by Giuseppe Garibaldi – an Italian general that was among the leading contributors to Italy’s unification and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy – on May 14th 1860. The Sicilian town claims to have held the title for a day.

That said, according to history books, there have only been three capital cities in Italy: Turin, Florence and Rome.

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