Today we reveal a little curiosity about the Pantheon, the ancient temple (dating back to 27 BC), dedicated to all the pagan gods of Ancient Rome and which can still be admired today in all its grandeur.

Have you ever noticed the writing above it? The Emperor Hadrian wanted it, when he rebuilt the building after a terrible fire. And it reports the name of the first real builder: “M.AGRIPPA.L.F.COS.TERTIUM.FECIT”, that means: Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, built this when he was consul for the third time (Consuls were the chief diplomats in Rome – comparable to a Prime Minister or a President).

But the writing we see, it’s not the original one, its characters were probably plundered, being made of bronze or perhaps other precious material. Only in 1894 the writing was reconstructed, as in the children’s game “join the dots”: every single letter was reassembled following the line that joined the holes, on which the original letters were fixed. Then, the experts had the problem of which font to use, as well as which material and which hooking system. They toured the length and breadth of museums and ancient deposits in Italy, until they found, in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, very ancient bronze letters and they were inspired by these, both in the shape of the characters, and in the interlocking technique to anchor them to the Pantheon.

The letters we see today are made of Corinthian bronze, fire-gilded and then oxidized. They are hollow, nonetheless, each one is 1 meter and 50 centimeters (about 5 feet) high and weighs 25 kilos (55 pounds)!!

Next time you pass by the Pantheon, look up and think about it!