Since the beginning of July, visitors have had to pay the sum of €7 to admire the coffered dome which surrounds the famous oculus of the Roman Pantheon. An agreement between the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC) and the Diocese of Rome, signed last April, agreed to increase the price of the entrance ticket for tourists, even nationals, previously to €5. The price of €2 for 18-25 year olds remains unchanged.
It has been about three years since a visit to the religious building on Place de la Rotonde has been subject to a fee. Residents of Rome, minors and people coming to attend mass are still exempt. In 2023, a measure by former Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano set entry prices to the Pantheon, one of Italy’s most popular monuments, with 4.5 million visitors per year. The revenues, divided between the Ministry of Culture and the Roman Bishop, were to be used for the maintenance of the building, as well as to finance cultural and charitable activities in the city. The additional €2 per ticket will be used to support local libraries in difficulty, according to the Italian online daily Fine art.
Built in the 1st century BC under the command of Agrippa during the reign of Augustus, then completely rebuilt in the 2nd century under the Emperor Hadrian, the building was converted into a church in the 7th century by Pope Boniface IV, thus becoming the Basilica of the Holy Virgin of the Martyrs. Its immense dome makes it one of the greatest architectural masterpieces of ancient Rome that has survived to this day, despite several architectural additions over the centuries. If its function is above all religious, it preserves the famous tomb of Raphael, overlooked by the Madonna and Child in the round by Lorenzo Lotti, as well as that of Victor-Emmanuel II, first king of Italy.
The Pantheon in Rome.
