An Entrance Unlike Any Other
Visitors who enter the Pantheon pass through a set of immense bronze doors. They measure 4.45 metres wide and 7.53 metres high, which is about 14.6 feet by 24.7 feet.
They pivot on metal pins set into the floor and into the architrave above. Scholars have tried for centuries to answer two questions. When were these doors made, and were they installed during the original construction of the Pantheon. The answers remain uncertain, and the doors stand as one of the most debated features of the monument.
Design and Craft of the Doors
The structure consists of two large leaves with cast bronze panels and lintels. Bronze pilasters flank the entrance. They include fluting and Tuscan capitals with egg and dart ornamentation. Above them runs a short frieze with neat ancient detailing. A transom of six rectangular bronze lattice panels sits above the doors on a wooden support. This feature is part of the Pantheon ventilation system.
Air enters through these openings even when the entrance is shut. The overall appearance matches the character of ancient bronze doors found in Rome. Examples include the doors of the Curia Julia and the Temple of Romulus.
Search for the True Date
Many researchers believed the doors to be original. Johann Joachim Winckelmann supported this view in his study of ancient art. He argued that they were not taken by conquerors or lost to the meltdown of bronze that marked different periods of Roman history. Others disagreed. Writers pointed out differences between the Pantheon doors and the rules Vitruvius described for Roman architecture.
Based on these points, they argued that the doors must be later creations, possibly from the Middle Ages or the early modern era. Another theory proposed that King Gaiseric of the Vandals stripped the original doors during the sack of Rome in the fifth century. Procopius of Caesarea recorded that the Vandals took copper from the Temple of Jupiter. If that happened, the Pantheon doors may have been removed at the same time.
Evidence of Repairs and Replacement
There is documented evidence of restoration. In 1759 workmen repaired the doors after a failed attempt to remove them. Records show that the doors fell during the process and killed a master mason named Corsini. That accident supported the idea that new components were installed.
Experts also noted that the wooden beam frame which supports the bronze parts cannot be ancient. Many believe it dates from repairs either in the Middle Ages or during the time of Pope Urban VIII.
Return to Motion
For 241 years the right door was sealed and the left door opened only partly. In 1998 a team studied the entrance and raised the doors slightly on special plates coated with soap. New pins were installed and the bronze entrance moved freely once again. Visitors can now walk through the restored doors of the Pantheon, even though their exact age remains uncertain.
Step through the Pantheon and you meet bronze doors that rise 7.53 m or 24.7 ft and span 4.45 m or 14.6 ft.
They turn on floor and lintel pins.
Their date is disputed, and that puzzle has shadowed this entrance longer than most monuments have stood…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/9N3zFBtui6
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) November 7, 2025