Chapter 20
Lamenting Lost Treasures
Meanwhile, outside in the Piazza della Rotunda
A pleasant breeze reinvigorated the group following Nicoletta and Donald as they entered the Piazza della Rotunda.
Donald was quick to look back in an effort to make eye contact with his brother. “Now this is one of Hadrian’s accomplishments,” he said, grinning when he saw how David was already awestruck by the sight at the south end of the piazza. “A temple for all the gods.”
Another obelisk blocked part of the view of the main attraction—the Pantheon.
The building featured a facade reminiscent of a Greek temple with eight Corinthian columns across the front of its portico.
From the groups’s vantage, the only way to know the temple was round was by noting the domed roof, an expanse of concrete larger than any other known atop a structure.
“You dog. You saved the best for last,” David accused, quickening his steps. Vittoria was forced to hurry as well or let go her hold on his arm.
“The best?” Randy repeated, grinning when Diana hurried on ahead to study the obelisk. “We haven’t even seen the Colosseum or the Roman Forum,” he reminded them.
“How well do you remember your Latin?” Donald asked as he and Nicoletta joined David and Vittoria. He pointed up to the large inscription above the columns.
M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT
David guffawed. “Quite well, since I’ve had to use it nearly every day of this Grand Tour,” he claimed. He turned his attention back to the inscription, his brows furrowing. “This makes no sense,” he said.
“Why do you say that?” Donald asked.
“The M is for Marcus, so Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made this when consul for the third time,” David recited. “But... Hadrian built it.”
“Ah,” Donald replied. “I think perhaps Hadrian was merely giving Agrippa the credit for an earlier version of the temple that burned down,” he explained.
“Or, more likely, the temple burned but the facade did not,” Vittoria said.
David turned and regarded her with wonder. “Yes,” he said softly. “That’s probably it exactly.”
Vittoria blinked, her gaze darting to Nicoletta before she lifted a shoulder. “Although it might have been built as a temple to all the gods, it is only for one now.”
David glanced over at his brother, who said, “It’s a Catholic church now—Santa Maria Rotunda—and has been a church for over a thousand years.”
“Huh,” David replied. “That’s probably why it’s in such good stead. And it doesn’t hurt that the columns were made of granite shipped from Egypt,” he added. “Each one solid rather than made up of drums,” Diana noted with appreciation.
“All thirty-nine feet of them,” Donald said, arching a brow.
“The portico seems rather odd,” Tom remarked, his brows furrowed. “Almost as if there was one built in front of another.”
“That’s because it is,” Donald agreed. “The columns arrived already carved and ready to erect, but they were too short for the original portico design by about ten feet, so an accommodation had to be made,” he explained.
“A short cella of sorts was built behind the portico. And then, the original bronze ceiling of the portico was removed when Pope Urban the Eighth demanded it be melted down to make cannons to fortify the Castel Sant’Angelo—”
“Hadrian’s Mausoleum,” Diana interjected, her attention turning to the obelisk.
Donald waved a hand in her direction. “Also known as Hadrian’s Mausoleum,” he added.
“There used to be bronze tiles atop the roof, too, but Emperor Constans the Second ordered they be stripped and sent to his residence in Syracuse along with all the other bronze and copper treasures he looted whilst he was here,” he said in disgust. “This was after the temple had already been converted to a church,” he added.
“What did he use them for?” Tom asked, obviously bothered by the story.
“He intended they be shipped to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire at the time.”
“But?” Tom prompted.
“They didn’t make it. I... I don’t recall what happened,” Donald said, his face screwing into an expression of concern as his gaze darted to Diana.
“Constans was assassinated in Syracuse, as were many of the people who lived there,” she said. “His ill-gotten gains ended up in the hands of the conquering Saracens,” she added.
“What did they do with them?” Tom asked.
“Took them to Alexandria in Egypt,” she replied. “Where they were no doubt melted down for the valuable metal.”
“Oh,” Tom’s expression of disappointment was shared by Donald.
“So many lost treasures,” he murmured.
“Which is why I make sure to keep mine close,” Randy murmured, leaning over to bus Diana on the cheek.
She tittered, her gaze briefly locking with Vittoria before the young lady’s attention was captured by Tom doing the same to Helen. From the expression on Vittoria’s face, Diana knew the young woman had never paid witness to such public displays of affection.
She closed the distance between them in three steps and whispered, “If you have a choice when it comes to a husband, make sure he values you as he would a treasure and you will have a happy marriage.”
Vittoria’s eyes widened, but she nodded her understanding. “Grazie,” she whispered.