The millions of tourists that annually visit Rome consider the Pantheon as a must see, mainly because the building is a magnificent symbol of the high level of engineering combined with religious and political motivations, which made great the Roman Empire. Being a local tour guide I'm often here, and I'm very proud, trust me. I will speak more specifically about the Pantheon, commissioned originally by Agrippa at the end of the I century b.C. and entirely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian in the first half of the II century d.C. Today I would like to talk about some of the legends that revolve around the Pantheon, a building which, because of its size, its history and its value, has stimulated the imagination of many.

Let's start from the main element of the Pantheon: the oculus, the large circular hole with a diameter of 18 feet, from which it enters, day after day, and for almost two thousand years, the light of the Sun but also the rain! Yes because according to a strange but popular tradition, it seems that when it rains in Rome, the drops of water cannot reach the soil, due to the internal temperature of the Pantheon that would melt in the drops before they touch the ground. This is the first legend to dispel, because when it rains the floor gets wet, for sure! But that's not all, because already the ancient Romans had found a solution to prevent that the Pantheon could be flooded every time by a storm. If you notice, right at the oculus, on the floor there are small holes. They serve to drain the water, so as to bring it under the floor where there are underground tunnels to drain the water. Not only that, because the floor is even a little bit concave, in order to allow to the water to flow better in the underground galleries. In this way the water can flow better, and to reach easily the holes.

But let's move on to something more somber, speaking of the many legends which the protagonists are demons, or even Satan himself. The reason so much of the demonic presence here in the Pantheon is, after all, easy to understand. Today, and more precisely from the 609 d.C., the Pantheon has been a christian basilica, perfectly functional, and consecrated with the name of the Basilica of Santa Maria ad Martyres. The building is, in a certain sense, a political and religious victory for the Christian Church that managed to transform one of the most impressive pagan temples in a church. The Pantheon became a symbol of the new course of history and the social taken by Rome, the city was originally governed by men and women of the polytheists who persecuted christians. Then, at the beginning of the VII century d.C., the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, named Foca, donated the Pantheon to the Church. Try to imagine the joy of the roman clergy. There was a problem, though.

Since the Pantheon is linked completely to a civilization like the roman which, in the course of the centuries following the fall of the Empire, was depicted as the son of the Antichrist and a concrete symbol of the Evil in the land, the building in the course of the Middle Ages had a reputation that unenviable. It was thought, indeed, that within it dwell the demons! A monument to evil, an evil to be extirpated at all costs before him, and to make it, finally, a church. For this reason it seems that Pope Boniface IV, who had the honor to receive the building as a gift from the emperor Foca, played a real exorcism, before opening for the first time the bronze doors of the Pantheon. And it is precisely from this gate, now open, that a series of demons came out, running away, and releasing for ever the monument. Not only, however, because, according to tradition, there was a demon so big that he could not escape from the entrance. And in what way did he escape? Simply chosing the ceiling, leaving behind him a perfect circular hole that still today captivates millions of people!

I conclude with one final legend about the Pantheon. If you notice, having the large portico entrance in front of you, all around the building there is a sort of moat, in which even today some archaeological remains are resting at the ground. This kind of moat is actually a physical representation of that difference in height that is present in Rome, a height difference which I would describe as a historical and archaeological way. Rome is a stratified city, that built its buildings above the previous ones. As a sort of lasagna, Rome is made of layers. For this today, digging in, it is easy to find something! However, there is a legend used to justify the moat that runs all around the Pantheon. It would have been, according to tradition, Satan who realizes it. Why? The story tells us of a man who, one day, he made a pact with the Devil. In exchange for a magic book, the man would have simply sold hissoul to the Devil. But, apparently, the human being can deceive the Deceiver par excellence, if it is true that man, after having received the book, took refuge in the Pantheon, became already at that time a christian church. The Devil could not enter inside a consacrated place and so for a day and a night racing, angry and angry, around the Pantheon, waiting for the man to come out. Running and running Satan created the moat of which I spoke earlier. Do you understand now how many legends are around the Pantheon?