My First Disappointment

Ever since I heard about the oculus (which for all of my etymology friends means ‘eye’ in Latin) in the roof the Pantheon I was filled with questions. What happens when it rains? Where does all the water go? Is there a drainage system in the floor?

I had to find the answers to these questions. I promised myself I would go to the Pantheon when it was raining and see for myself. I had imagined a beautifully romantic scene in which I would stand under the oculus stretching my arms toward the sky and feel the raindrops poor down my face. Of course, in this moment there would be only two or three other tourists in the Pantheon and I would have all the time in the world to bask in the warm droplets.

That is not what happened.

A few days ago I was in the city center when it started raining; I knew exactly where I would go. I maneuvered my way around the crowds of people trying to buy umbrellas and rethink their day in Rome. As I rounded the corner and the Pantheon came into view I was disappointed to find there was still a crowd of people. Regardless, I excitedly walked up to the Pantheon and stepping inside the dome took a deep and eager breath and then opened my eyes expecting to see a waterfall of rain. I didn’t see any rain. There was a crowd toward the middle of the pantheon gathered around the oculus looking up at tiny specks…at dust…at misquotes. It did not look like rain. Certainly not the big droplets I had imagined.

(This is a good picture of the rain in the Pantheon. Can you see anything?)

To my further dismay the ground beneath the oculus had been chained off. I was tempted to climb over the chain anyway just to fulfill my dream but then I saw the guard keenly watching the crowd. Better not to make a scene. So there I was, stuck on the other side of a chain looking at puddles of water on a marble floor. I couldn’t even clearly see the rain hitting the floor.

The oculus was so high up that by straining one’s eyes they would only barley see the water falling in. The ground was wet and piles of water were beginning to form, but it was not magical. It was cold. Wet. Stuffy. Chained off. The floor became a muddy mess. People started to slip. Not my dream.

It was altogether quite disappointing.

Tip for travelers: When you go to Rome visit the Pantheon when it is sunny.