Pantheon, Rome, Italy

Pantheon located in the Piazza della Rotonda in Rome, Italy, was originally built as a Roman Temple. Later it was consecrated as a Roman Catholic Church named Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Martiri (the Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs).

The original Pantheon was built as a rectangular temple by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa between 27 and 25 BC. Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed by a fire in 80 AD. The present Pantheon was constructed about 125 AD by Emperor Hadrian. Byzantine Emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV who converted the Pantheon into the Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs in 609, while conversion of Pantheon into a church saved it from pillage.

Giant concrete dome with a central opening (oculus) named the Great Eye is 43,3 meters (142 feet) in diameter and is the largest masonry dome in the world. The dome gets thinner as it approaches the Great Eye at the top of the dome with a diameter of 8,7 m (29 feet). Dome's diameter is equal to its height from the floor. The portico is supported by three rows of eight 14 meters (46 feet) high granite Corinthian columns.

Following its conversion into a church the Pantheon was adorned with paintings, sculptures and paintings by numerous prominent artists such as Melozzo da Forlì, Pietro Paolo Bonzi, Bernardino Cametti, Andrea Camassei, Francesco Cozza and many others. Pantheon also contains the tombs of painters Raphael and Annibale Caracci, architect Baldassare Peruzzi and several Italian Kings, including Vittorio Emmanuele II, the first king of united Italy.

Tyn Church, Prague, Czech, Republic

Tyn Church or the Church of Our Lady before the Tyn is a Roman Catholic Church located in the Old Town district of Prague, Czech Republic. The first Romanesque Church of Our Lady before the Tyn was built about 1185 but the construction of the present Gothic church began about 1360 and was not completed until 1470.

The church had important role during the turmoils between Hussites and Roman Catholics. It was controlled by the Hussites for a long time and became a national symbol and the main Prague church. The church was also the seat of the Hussite archbishop John of Rokycan from 1424. The sculptures of George of Podebrady and the chalice were removed and replaced by a the ten-foot figure sculpture of the Madonna after the Battle of White Mountain (the Thirty Years War) in 1626. Gothic dome of the main nave was reconstructed in early Baroque style after the fire in 1679 which caused by a lightning. Lightning also caused fire in 1817 in northern tower and destroyed the bell from 1585. The renovations lasted until 1835.

The Church of Our Lady before the Tyn was renovated between 1876 and 1895. Modern restoration of the exterior was carried out between 1973 and 1995 but the interior restoration is continuing.

Rotunda of Mosta, Malta

The Rotunda of Mosta or Mosta Dome is a Roman Catholic Church located in the city of Mosta, Malta. The Rotunda which is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built between 1833 and 1860 over and around a church from 1614.

The Classical style design for the massive church which can receive about 12,000 people was made by Maltese architect Girogio Grongnet. Grongnet's design resembles the Pantheon in Rome, while church's massive dome with a diameter of 37 meters (122 feet) is one of the largest on the world.

Rotunda was hit by a German 200 kg bomb during World War II in 1942. The bomb pierced the dome and fell among the congregation of 300 people awaiting early evening mass. Fortunately the bomb did not explode and nobody was hurt. The event became legendary and a replica of the German bomb is displayed in sacristy in commemoration.

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