Few cities in Europe offer the scope of the various layers of history--from Ancient Rome to the present. Here is a great image of the Pantheon from 1835; notice the bell towers added by Bernini and removed in 1883. You'll come to admire this magisterial artist at the Galleria Borghese, especially his sculpture. But these bell towers were perhaps a bit of a disaster!
Note: the shape of the buildings are still similar; we'll get gelato just to the right of the Pantheon.
Note: the height of the fountain; in the Roman period, there was a staircase to reach the portico of the Pantheon. Ancient Rome was far lower than today's Rome.
Fun Fact: Each massive column is about 40 feet high. Architectural specialists suggest that in actuality they should have been 50 feet to balance out the proportions. Is that why Bernini added the bell towers?
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