Hole in Pantheon dome

[catfather]

I have read a small hole (2' X 3') was cut into the dome of the Pantheon in Rome, to see how it was constructed. I am NOT referring to the oculus at top. I also have read this small hole may have been cut by Filippo Brunelleschi, architect of the dome of the Duomo in Florence, as "research" before preparing his design for the Duomo dome. Any truth to this, or even speculation?

[joe]

Interesting...I'd never heard that myself. Maybe someone else has?

[everyann]

hmm...I've never heard of that. I'm curious, though, do you know where this "hole" would be? I've been to the Pantheon and there was no obvious 2nd hole. I'll have to review my photos later.

[VegasEd]

I will be there in June 2007. If you know the location, I can make sure I get a good shot of it.

[jrc]

I'd never heard of that, but I suppose if anyone had done it, it'd have been Brunelleschi.

[catfather]

I am sorry I haven't gotten back sooner, since posing the question. I have learned a little more about the "hole" in the Parthenon, and have seen a picture. It is shown on one of the 30-minute PBS travelogue documentaries by Rick Steves -- in the camera shot, the hole appears to be about 6-10 feet off the floor, where the dome wall still is near-vertical. It's low enough that someone standing on a ladder could have cut it. The hole is rectangular, and I esitmate it to be about a foot high and between 1.5 feet and 2 feet wide. In the camera shot, there was nothing to compare the height or size of the hole; hence, the vague estimates. In his narration, Steves says Brunelleschi "may" have been the one to cut the hole, to learn how the dome was constructed in preparation for his work on the Duomo.

[lfin]

There are two small rectangles, one above the other, cut in the near-verticle wall of the dome on the side of the building above the entrance. You can see how the thickness of the dome varies over the distance of approximately 3 meters between them.