Pantheon Research

I have full confidence that this presentation will be a great improvement on the last from Group 1. (Oh yeah, if you didn't know, I switched groups.) This time we're planning to entertain and educate the class on the Pantheon. Acting as reporters, the Pope, the Italian Communist Party and achitechture buffs, we'll bring to the table a future use for the Pantheon and our reasons why it will benefit everyone. I researched the Communist view and the current uses / controversies of the Pantheon. Argumentative Points:

• The "Angels & Demons" Film has wanted to use the Pantheon for movie setting purposes. Producers hoped to stick closely to the plot of the book by Dan Brown and ensured minimal building damage.
• The Pantheon is one of Rome's oldest, best-preserved and most popular monuments. It is located in the heart of the old city, which was included on Unesco's World Heritage List in 1980.
• Within the Pantheon is the tomb of Raphael, who was long considered as the greatest of all painters and whose genius conferred so much beauty on Rome. Other major artists interred there are Giovanni da Udine, Perin del Vaga, Annibali Carrachi, Taddeo Zuccari and Baldassare Peruzzi.
• The Pantheon is also a favourite meeting place for Romans and for visitors to Rome. People often arrange to meet in a familiar place where they can sit and wait. The portico of the Pantheon with its sixteen towering granite columns and its pediment of white marble provides perfect shelter on a torrid summer day or during the acquazzoni the diluvian summer.
• It does not stand in splendid isolation; its mystery gives light and meaning to everything around it. Not only on the Piazza della Rotonda, but far beyond in the narrow, cobbled streets, everything--from stray cats to fashion shops--is somehow illuminated by its poetic grandeur.

Therefore, our dicussion is expected to get very heated, be very entertaining and hopefully effectively educate our class about the history, architechture and culture surrounding the Pantheon. Enjoy the Show!