Restaurant in Rome- Armando Al Pantheon and Spot in Rome- the Pantheon
General Introduction to the Pantheon
In Canto IV of Lord Byron’s travelogue entitled Child Harold’s Pilgrimage, he describes the Pantheon in this way:
SIMPLE, erect, severe, austere, sublime,—
Shrine of all saints, and temple of all gods,
From Jove to Jesus,—spared and blest by time;
Looking tranquillity, while falls or nods
Arch, empire, each thing round thee, and man plods
His way through thorns to ashes,—glorious dome!
Shalt thou not last? Time’s scythe and tyrants’ rods
Shiver upon thee,—sanctuary and home
Of art and piety,—Pantheon!—pride of Rome!
A recent picture, (July 2020)with the Pantheon quite empty because travel restrictions due to COVID-19 were in effect.
The stanza is too good to slice up and excerpt, so I present it here in full. The pantheon is my favorite monument in Rome, and I am well-aware that I share this opinion with millions of people alive today and millions of others who have passed on. This “glorious dome” truly has been “spared and blest by time” and like so many treasures of antiquity in Rome, it serves as reminder of our mortality, of the brevity of existence and overall relativity of how we measure time. Gazing on a monument like this should serve as a great equalizer. It should humble any human on earth, but at the same time, invite each one of us in. The prefix ‘pan’ means ‘all’ thus Byron declares it as a “shrine of all saints” and “temple of all gods.” The Pantheon made a transition through centuries from pagan to Christian. And as Byron alludes to, it has outlasted mortal ‘tyrants’ rods’ and challenged the immortal ‘time’s scythe.’ I believe it will continue to live immortally. The inscription ‘M. AGRIPPA. L. COS. TERTIVM. FECIT.’ adorns the façade of the Pantheon today. It translates to ‘Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul three times, made [this]’.
The facade of the Pantheon at night
As one of the most conspicuous features of the ancient building, it requires some explanation. First, the building we see today was not ‘made’ by Marcus Agrippa, but rather the Emperor Hadrian (76 CE-138 CE, reign 117 CE-138 CE). Now, Marcus Agrippa did, in fact, make a ‘pantheon’ on the same spot, but it is not the building we see today. His Pantheon was built between 27-25 BCE. Marcus Agrippa was not an emperor, but a Roman consul (still a prestigious political role) and advisor, or powerful deputy, to Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Agrippa and Augustus shared a long close history; they were friends from around 44 BCE, or the year that Julius Caesar was killed. (Augustus was a nephew and adopted son to Caesar and he took his name when he became first official Emperor of Rome.) Agrippa was a powerful man who fulfilled many roles during the reign of Augustus. One role was architect, thus the tribute created by Hadrian in the third incarnation of the Pantheon and the source of confusion at first glance. One justification for Hadrian’s inclusion of this inscription is that as emperor he was a great “patron of the arts” and interested not only in new construction but the restoration of older monuments. “According to the Historia Augusta, Hadrian also practiced the act of restoring the original inscriptions on his renovated monuments without leaving his own name, a testament to his modesty.” Hadrian’s Pantheon that we see today was constructed during his reign and completed in the year 125 CE, about 150 years after Agrippa’s construction. Just to add layers (this is Rome we are talking about, after all), there was another Pantheon built in between Agrippa’s and Hadrian’s. This second one was commissioned by the Emperor Domitian (51 CE-96 CE, reign 81 CE-96 CE). These first two buildings met unfortunate fates as Agrippa’s was destroyed by a fire in 80 CE and Domitian’s was struck by lightning in 110 CE. Read more here.
The oculus of the Pantheon as seen from inside
Agrippa’s Pantheon, the original, was rectangular in shape and most scholars believe it faced southward. There is also evidence to suggest that the Emperor Domitian rebuilt Agrippa’s Pantheon in a similar style. Some scholars even choose the word ‘restored’ over ‘rebuilt’ for the second incarnation of the building. Hadrian’s Pantheon embodies the cliched ‘third time charm’ and still today the structure ‘holds’ the title of the largest dome of unreinforced concrete in the entire world.
The over 2,000-year history of this monument comes into conflict with the Emperor Constantine’s official conversion to Christianity after the 4th Century (CE) in Rome and the rise of Christianity in the centuries that followed. However, the pagan Pantheon was preserved by Pope Boniface IV as in 609 CE he rededicated the Pantheon as the Church of Sancta Maria ad Martyres. It is only fitting that my favorite monument houses my favorite Renaissance artist’s tomb. When you enter the space, facing the alter, go to the left to visit the tomb of Raffaello Sanzio. The great Renaissance master Raphael desired to be buried in the Pantheon; he got his wish and on his marble sarcophagus you will find the mighty statement: ‘Here lies that famous Raphael by whom Nature feared to be conquered while he lived and when he was dying feared herself to die.’
A print of the 1833 engraving made by E. Finden featuring the ‘asses ears’ on the Pantheon
One last fact about the ‘pride of Rome’ is related to the history of architectural conservation. Pope Urban VIII, who served as pope from 1623 to 1644, commissioned two bell towers to be added on the façade of the Pantheon. I find this fact of particular relevance because if you look at or purchase a 17th- 19th century print featuring the Pantheon, it will feature these towers.
This is yet another confusing fact about the pantheon. The towers were created by Carlo Maderno, the papal architect, with the help of Borromini. Oddly, they are still very frequently falsely attributed to the rival architect Bernini. Criticized by Romans for well over a century, the so-called ‘asses ears’ were finally removed from the façade of the Pantheon in 1892. The intention was to restore the façade to how it looked in the time of Hadrian, or at least as close as possible.
I chose to explore only the Pantheon as a preamble to the restaurant Armando al Pantheon as opposed to the full area around it, including the nearby Piazza Navona, as there is more than enough to say only about this one monument, and as I mentioned it is my favorite monument. I only scratched the surface with facts that should enhance your visit to this unparalleled (and free…for now) attraction. If you would like to read more, I would recommend this book: The Pantheon: From Antiquity to the Present, which can be found on Google Books.
Restaurant Specifics
Address- Salita dei Crescenzi, 31
Phone- +39 06 6880 3034
Website- http://www.armandoalpantheon.it/en/
Hours- Open every week day for lunch and dinner, except Sunday
Price- Middle Range
Reservations- http://www.armandoalpantheon.it/prenota/
The interior of Armando al Pantheon
The restaurant also features the Pantheon in its name, and Armando al Pantheon contains a history of its own. Opened in 1961 by Armando Gargioli himself, the restaurant has remained a family affair. Today Armando’s sons, Claudio and Fabrizio, can be found in the kitchen. The restaurant has wood paneling on the walls and feels like you have stepped back into the 1960s with eclectic artworks in frames and stained glass.
The amazing thing about this restaurant is that it is so centrally located. There are poor to mediocre alternatives lining the Piazza della Rotonda just outside, but the Roman fare you will get at Armando is superbly authentic and fresh. It is possible to reserve a table online now through ResDiary (good for language barrier and booking ahead) and I do warn you that you should reserve well in advance (at least a week or two weeks if you are booking on a weekend or holiday).
Like most of the restaurants I have recommended, you will be safe with Roman classics, most of which fill the menu. I endeavored to recommend the best (well, my favorite) truly ‘Roman’ restaurants. Go for the Carciofi alla romana if they are in season. Armando also embraces, or has kept up, the tradition of featuring certain dishes on certain days. For example, pasta e ceci (pasta and chickpea soup) and Baccala (salted cod) only on Fridays. The fish on Fridays is part of a Catholic tradition, of course. I love the puntarelle salad (curly turnip tops with anchovies) when they are in season as well. I will provide my recommendations below, but again, once you have secured the reservation, you will be quite sure to eat well at this central Roman treasure under the eye (or oculus, literally) of the pantheon next door. Another perk for Armando, is that they feature natural wines on their menu. Take a look at the link in the previous sentence. Thus, Armando is tapping into the winning combination of ‘classic’ and rather ‘old school style’ restaurant with the contemporary, trendy flair of natural (and at the same time) delicious wines.
Recommended Dishes
Antipasti- Carciofi alla Romana or one of the many bruschette
Primo- All the Roman pastas on offer at the time. Also, I recommend the spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino is simple but delicious. (This is a dish that every Italian can make, often when scouring the kitchen when late night hunger strikes. That is because EVERY Italian kitchen will always have the basic ingredients, garlic, olive oil and spicy pepper flakes, with pasta, of course. If you do not have a Roman to make this for you at home, I would try it here, as it is not only simple but simply delicious.) The Amatriciana here is especially a crowd pleaser. The specials are always encouraged.
Abbacchio alla cacciatora
Secondo- Saltimbocca alla Romana or abbacchio (lamb). The last time I was here, I had a wonderful abbacchio that was on the specials list.
All desserts are homemade.