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Louise of Savoy was born at Pont-d'Ain, the eldest daughter of Philip II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife, Margaret of Bourbon. Her brother, Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, succeeded her father as ruler of the duchy and head of the House of Savoy. He was, in turn, succeeded by their half-brother Charles III, Duke of Savoy.
Because her mother died when she was only seven, she was brought up by Anne de Beaujeu, who was regent of France for her brother Charles VIII. At Amboise she met Margaret of Austria, who was betrothed to the young king and with whom Louise would negotiate peace several decades later.
At age eleven, Louise married Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême, on 16 February 1488 in Paris. She only began living with him when she was fifteen, though. Despite her husband having two mistresses, the marriage was not unhappy and they shared a love for books.
The household of Charles was presided over by his châtelaine Antoinette de Polignac, Dame de Combronde, by whom he had two illegitimate daughters, Jeanne of Angoulême and Madeleine. Antoinette became Louise's lady-in-waiting and confidante. Her children were raised alongside Louise's own. Charles had another illegitimate daughter, Souveraine, by Jeanne le Conte, who also lived in the Angoulême chateau. She would later arrange marriages for her husband's illegitimate children.
Their first child, Marguerite, was born on 11 April 1492; their second child, Francis, was born on 12 September 1494.
When her husband fell ill after going out riding in the winter of 1495, she nursed him and suffered much grief when he died on 1 January 1496.
When she was widowed at the young age of 19, Louise deftly maneuvered her children into a position that would secure for each of them a promising future. Though they remained in Cognac for two years, she moved her family to court at the ascension of King Louis XII, her husband's cousin.
Louise had a keen awareness for the intricacies of politics and diplomacy, and was deeply interested in the advances of arts and sciences in Renaissance Italy. She made certain that her children were educated in the spirit of the Italian Renaissance, also helped by her Italian confessor, Cristoforo Numai from Forlì. She commissioned books specifically for them and she taught Francis Italian and Spanish.
When Louis XII became ill in 1505, he determined that Francis should succeed him and both Louise and his wife Anne of Brittany should be part of the regency council. He recovered and Francis became a favourite of the king, who eventually gave him his daughter Claude of France in marriage on 8 May 1514. Following the marriage, Louis XII designated Francis as his heir.
With the death of Louis XII on 1 January 1515, Francis became king of France. On 4 February 1515, Louise was named Duchess of Angoulême, and on 15 April 1524, Duchess of Anjou.
Louise of Savoy remained politically active on behalf of her son in the early years of his reign especially. During his absences, she acted as regent on his behalf. Louise served as the Regent of France in 1515, during the king's war in Italy, and again from 1525 to 1526, when the king was at war and during his time as prisoner in Spain.
In 1524, she sent one of her servants, Jean-Joachim de Passano, to London to open unofficial negotiations with Cardinal Wolsey for a peace treaty; the negotiations were not a success, although they may have prepared the ground for the Treaty of the More the following year.
She initiated friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire by sending a mission to Suleiman the Magnificent requesting assistance, but the mission was lost on its way in Bosnia. In December 1525, a second mission was sent, led by John Frangipani, which managed to reach Constantinople, the Ottoman capital, with secret letters asking for the deliverance of King Francis I and an attack on the Habsburg. Frangipani returned with a positive answer from Suleiman, on 6 February 1526, initiating the first steps of a Franco-Ottoman alliance.
She was the principal negotiator for the Treaty of Cambrai between France and the Holy Roman Empire, concluded on 3 August 1529. That treaty, called "the Ladies' Peace", put an end to the second Italian war between the head of the Valois dynasty, Francis I of France, and the head of the Habsburg dynasty, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The Treaty temporarily confirmed Habsburg hegemony in Italy.
The treaty was signed by Louise of Savoy for France and her sister-in-law, Margaret of Austria, for the Holy Roman Empire.
Louise of Savoy died on 22 September 1531, in Grez-sur-Loing. Her remains were entombed at Saint-Denis in Paris. After her death her lands, including Auvergne, merged in the crown. Through her daughter Marguerite (Queen of Navarre) and her granddaughter Jeanne d'Albret, she is the ancestress of the Bourbon kings of France, as her great-grandson, Henry of Navarre, succeeded as Henry IV of France.
Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (Maria Theresia Anna Felicitas; 11 May 1694 – 20 February 1772) was the heiress to the Silesian Duchy of Troppau (now Opava in Czech Republic). Countess of Soissons by marriage, she was the last person to hold the title. She had one son who predeceased her in 1734. Her son was engaged to Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, duchess of Massa and heiress to the Principality of Carrara.
Her father was Prince Hans-Adam I of Liechtenstein – who had purchased the counties of Vaduz and Schellenberg, which is now the modern state of Liechtenstein (although the first Prince to visit Vaduz did so only in 1844). Her mother, Erdmuthe Maria Theresia of Dietrichstein was the great-granddaughter of Adam von Dietrichstein (1527–1590), Hofmeister to the court of Emperor Rudolf II and buried in St Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle.
Maria Theresia’s father had died in 1712 – and both her brothers before that.
In Vienna on 24 October 1713 Maria Theresia married Thomas Emmanuel, Count of Soissons and Governor of Antwerp (born on 8 December 1687), second son of Louis Thomas of Savoy-Carignano and his wife Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais. They had one son, Eugenio Giovanni.
By this marriage she also became a princess of Savoy, having married into a cadet branch of the reigning dukes of Savoy. Her husband was a descendant of the princes of Carignano, which been raised by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, into a principality as an appanage for his third son, Thomas Francis. The house of Carignano developed two junior branches, those of Soissons and Villafranca.
In 1662 the town of Yvois in the Ardennes was raised by Louis XIV of France into a duchy in his favour, its name being changed at the same time to Carignano. The famous Prince Eugene of Savoy was the second son of the first Prince of Carignano.
Prince Eugene was Thomas Emmanuel’s uncle. Eugene served under Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor – and for his leadership at the Battle of Vienna (against the Turks) in 1683 he became known as "The Atlas of the Austrian monarchy". In 1697, as Field Marshal and chief of Austrian armies, he defeated the forces of the Ottoman sultan, Mustafa II, at the decisive Battle of Zenta (now Senta in Serbia) in Hungary.
After her husband died in Vienna on 28 December 1729, Maria Theresia made Škvorec Castle her seat.
On 20 February 1772 Maria Theresia died in Vienna. She was a descendant of Georg Hartmann who had become Lutheran c. 1540, while her great-grandfather, Karl, a stattholder of Bohemia had found it wise to become a Catholic in 1599.
Maria Theresa’s son, Eugene Jean Francois, Count of Soissons and Duke of Troppau (born 23 September 1714; died at Mannheim on 24 November 1734) had died at only 20 years old, thus her estate passed to Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein – great-grandson of Prince Hartmann III of Liechtenstein (1613–1686). The title of Count of Soissons became extinct with the young son’s death and was returned to the French crown.
Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (17 September 1688 – 14 February 1714), nicknamed "La Savoyana", was Queen of Spain by marriage to Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as a political adviser during the War of the Spanish Succession. Because of her effectiveness, she was well-loved in her adoptive country.
María Luisa Gabriella was born on 17 September 1688, at the Royal Palace of Turin, Savoy. She was the third daughter and second surviving child of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy and Anne Marie of Orléans, the youngest daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Princess Henrietta of England. In her youth, Maria Luisa Gabriella was described as "intelligent, playful, and fun-loving" and had received an excellent education. She remained close to her older sister Maria Adelaide, who later married Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest grandson of Louis XIV.
The official wedding took place on 2 November 1701. Philip V was deeply in love with his wife from the start: as would be the case of his next consort, he was sexually dependent on her because his religious scruples prevented him from exercising any sexual life outside of marriage. Unlike what was normal for a Spanish monarch, he usually slept in her bed the entire night, and insisted upon his conjugal rights. Already shortly after their marriage, the French ambassador, the Duke of Gramont reported to Louis XIV that Philip would be completely governed by his spouse as long as he had one, a report that led Louis XIV to warn his grandson not to allow his Queen to dominate him.
In general, the young Queen's influence was beneficial: Maria Luisa Gabriella is described as remarkably mature for her age, politically savvy, articulate and hardworking. She was praised throughout Spain for her regency and had been credited with giving the normally passive Philip V the energy he needed to participate in warfare.
In 1702, Phillip V was obliged to leave Spain to fight in Naples as part of the ongoing War of Spanish Succession. During her husband's absence, 14-years-old Maria Luisa Gabriella effectively acted as regent from Madrid, insisting upon all complaints being investigated, ordering that the reports were directly sent to her, and working for hours with ministers. She gave audiences to ambassadors and tried to prevent Savoy from joining the enemy, though this goal soon failed. However, her issues successfully encouraged the reorganization of the "Junta" and considerable monetary donations from several nobles and cities towards the war effort. Philip V was eventually recognised as King of Spain and retained most of its colonial possessions, but
ceded territories in Italy and renounced the French throne for himself and his descendants.
Towards the end of her life, Maria Luisa Gabriella became ill of tuberculosis. She eventually died in Royal Alcazar of Madrid, on 14 February 1714 at the age of 25. The Queen was buried at San Lorenzo de El Escorial. In 16 September 1714, just months after her death, her widower remarried by proxy, to Elisabeth Farnese, the heiress of the Duke of Parma. Her niece, Princess Maria Luisa was named after her.
By her husband Philip V of Spain, Maria Luisa Gabriella gave birth to the her first child in 1707. She gave birth to three more children, two of whom would survive infancy:
As all of her children were to die without issue, there are no descendants of Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy.
Maria Clotilde of Savoy (Ludovica Teresa Maria Clotilde; 2 March 1843 – 25 June 1911) was born in Turin to Vittorio Emanuele II, later King of Italy and his first wife, Adelaide of Austria. She was the wife of Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte. She is venerated in the Catholic Church, having been declared Servant of God by Pope Pius XII.
Maria Clotilde was the eldest of eight children born to Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia by his first wife and cousin, Archduchess Adelaide of Austria. Her father would later become the King of a united Italy as Victor Emmanuel II.
Maria Clotilde's paternal grandparents were Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Tuscany.
Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Rainer of Austria and Elisabeth of Savoy. Rainer was a younger son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.
On 30 January 1859 she was married in Turin to Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte (1822–1891). They had three children:
Her husband was unfaithful, and she was active within charities. Maria Clotilde was described as very proud, bigoted and dutiful. During a discussion of the proper way of dressing, Maria Clotide pointed out to Empress Eugenie that she should not forget that she was born and raised in a Royal Court. When Eugenie complained of the fatigue of the French Court on one occasion, Maria Clotilde replied "We do not mind; you see, we are born to it". She was also described however as "pious and modest".
The marriage was also unpopular with both the French and the Italians; the latter in particular felt that the daughter of their King had been sacrificed to an unpopular member of the House of Bonaparte and consequently regarded it as a "mésalliance". For France's part, Napoléon Joseph was ill-regarded and had been known to carry on a number of affairs both before and during his marriage. Their official reception into Paris on 4 February was greeted very coldly by Parisians, not out of disrespect for a daughter of the King of Savoy, but instead out of dislike for her new husband. Indeed, all her life, public sympathy tended to lean in her favor; she was fondly regarded as retiring, charitable, pious, and trapped in an unhappy marriage.
With her husband, she traveled to the United States in 1861 and to Egypt and the Holy Land in 1863. While in the United States, she traveled on the newly completed main line of the Illinois Central Railroad, where the village of Savoy, Illinois was named in her honor.
After the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870, Maria Clotilde had initially refused to leave Paris when the revolution broke out, because of her sense of what was suitable for a Princess from the House of Savoy, which was to stay on her post. They were forced to flee, however, and their family enjoyed a beautiful estate in the town of Prangins near Lake Geneva that they resided in.
After Maria Clotilde's father Victor Emmanuel died in 1878, she returned to Turin, Italy without her husband. During this period, their daughter (Maria Letizia) mostly resided with her mother in the Castle of Moncalieri, but her two sons stayed mainly with their father. It was in Italy that their mother withdrew herself from society to dedicate herself to religion and various charities.
After the revolution, she lived the rest of her life in Moncalieri (located outside of Turin), where she spent her days devoting herself to religion. She lived in retirement from the world for the following twenty years, until her death. Maria Clotilde died in Moncalieri at the age of 68. She was buried there, and the funeral was given regal honors. It was attended by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Queen Elena, and others.
On 1936 the cause of beatification Maria Clotilde was introduced by the Archbishop of Turin, In 10 July 1942 Pope Pius XII declared the princess a Servant of God and the cause of her beatification still continue.
Margaret of Savoy (April 1439 – 9 March 1483), also known as Marguerite de Savoie or Margherita di Savoia, was the eldest surviving daughter of Louis I, Duke of Savoy. She was the wife of Margrave John IV of Montferrat, and later the wife of Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, Marle, and Soissons.
Margaret was born in April 1439 in Turin, Italy, the eldest surviving daughter and one of the nineteen children of Louis I, Duke of Savoy and Princess Anne of Cyprus. Her paternal grandparents were Amadeus VIII of Savoy, who was also the Antipope Felix V, and Mary of Burgundy. Her maternal grandparents were King Janus of Cyprus and Armenia and Charlotte de Bourbon.
In December 1458 at Casale, she married her first husband, John IV, Margrave of Montferrat, the son of John Jacob of Montferrat and Joan of Savoy. He was a condottiere for the Republic of Venice during the Wars in Lombardy which were a series of conflicts fought between Venice and Milan, and their various allies.
Margaret brought a dowry of 100,000 scudi, and in return received Trino, Morano, Borgo San Martino, and Mombaruzzo. The marriage was childless, although John fathered several illegitimate children. He died on 19 January 1464, leaving her a widow at the age of twenty-five.
Two and a half years later, on 12 July 1466, Margaret married her second husband, Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Soissons, the second eldest son of Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Brienne and Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons. The marriage produced five children:
Margaret died at Bruges on 9 March 1483, less than six months after her husband Pierre, and she was buried at the Abbey of Happlaincourt. Margaret was survived by her two daughters, Marie and Françoise, her three sons having died in early infancy.
Favorito was the personal horse of Charles Albert of Savoy, King of Sardinia from 1831, and was ridden by him during the campaigns of 1848. After the Piedmontese defeat at the Battle of Novara in 1849, and the king's subsequent abdication, Favorito joined his master in exile in Porto. Following the death of Charles Albert in the July of that year, the horse was brought back to Turin and to the Royal Stables.
On Favorito's death in 1867 his pelt was mounted on a life-size wooden sculpture commissioned from Giovanni Tamone, to a design by Count Stanislao Grimaldi. The horse was equipped as for the wars of 1848–9, including the saddle used by the king in the battle of Novara, and placed along with Charles Albert's other military effects in the Royal Armoury, where he remains on display to this day.
Margaret of Savoy (June 21, 1382 or 1390 – November 23, 1464) was Marchioness of Montferrat, and a Dominican Sister.
Margaret was the eldest of the four children—all daughters—born to Amadeo of Savoy, Lord of Piedmont (and titular Prince of Achaea), and his wife Catherine of Geneva.
Her paternal grandparents were Giacomo of Savoy, titular Prince of Achaea, and his second wife Sibylle of Baux. Her maternal grandparents were Amadeus III, Count of Geneva, and Mahaut d'Auvergne. Their claim to the throne of Achaea came from her great-grandfather Philip of Savoy, eldest son of Thomas III of Piedmont and Guia of Burgundy. Philip married Isabella of Villehardouin, Princess of Achaea, and co-reigned with her from 1301 to 1307. They were both deposed by Philip I of Taranto but continued to claim the title. However Giacomo was a son of Philip by his second wife Catherine de la Tour du Pin and his claim to be the heir of Isabella of Villehardouin was disputed.
On January 17, 1403, Margaret married Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat, a member of the Palaiologos dynasty and male-line descendant of Andronikos II Palaiologos. Theodore was the widower of Jeanne of Bar, daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar, and Marie Valois. Her piety increased after she heard the preaching of Vincent Ferrer, who spent several months in Montferrat. This marriage lasted for fifteen years but was childless. Theodore died in 1418.
When she was left a widow, she decided to abandon the world. Leaving the direction of the affairs of the marquisate to Jean-Jacques, the son of her husband by his first marriage, she retired to Alba where she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic.
A little later, Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, asked her hand in marriage and begged Pope Martin V to relieve her of her vow. But Margaret opposed a formal refusal to this request and with several young women of rank, she founded a monastery and placed it under the rule of the order of St. Dominic. Redoubling her mortifications she remained a model of piety and died at Alba, 23 November 1464.
On 13 December 1464, her remains were placed in a simple tomb; in 1481 they were transferred to a different and much more beautiful sepulchre built in her monastery at the expense of William VIII of Montferrat. They are presently held in the church of Santa Maria Maddalena, Alba.
Four noble "beati" of the Savoy family are depicted on the vault of a bay in the south aisle of the church of San Michele in Pavia. Margaret is shown dressed as a nun holding three arrows.
Prince Thomas Emmanuel of Savoy, (8 December 1687 – 28 December 1729), was born a Prince of Savoy and was later Count of Soissons from 1702 till his death.
He was the son of Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy (1657–1702) and Uranie de La Cropte. The famous general Prince Eugene of Savoy was his uncle.
He married on 24 October 1713 Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (1694–1772), Duchess of Troppau and had one son. He became a Knight in the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece in 1712. He died in Vienna.
Eugene Maurice of Savoy (French: "Eugène Maurice de Savoie"; 2 March 1635 – 6 June 1673) was a Franco-Italian nobleman and general. A count of Soissons, he was the father of imperial field-marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Eugene Maurice was born in Chambéry, Savoy. He was son of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano and Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons. He was grandson of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Catherine Micaela of Austria.
On 21 February 1657 he married the "beautiful and witty" Olimpia Mancini, a niece of cardinal Mazarin, daughter of Michele Mancini and Geronima Mazarini.
He obtained high military posts through his wife's influence. He played a role in defeating the Spaniards at the battle of the Dunes in 1658. He took part in the campaigns at Flanders (1667), Franche-Comté (1668) and Holland (1672); and was present as ambassador extraordinary of France at the coronation of Charles II of England.
He died at Unna in Westphalia in 1673, out of a deadly fever, although there were voices that he had been poisoned.
The Basilica of Superga () is a church in the vicinity of Turin.
It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, designed by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga. This fulfilled a vow the duke (and future King of Sardinia) had made during the Battle of Turin, after defeating the besieging French army in the War of the Spanish Succession. The architect alluded to earlier styles while adding a baroque touch. The church contains the tombs of many princes and kings of the House of Savoy, including the "Monument to Carlo Emanuele III" (1733) by Ignazio Collino and his brother Filippo. Under the church are the tombs of the Savoy family, including most of its members, among them Charles Albert.
This church by Juvarra is considered late Baroque-Classicism. The dome was completed in 1726 and resembles some elements of Michelangelo's dome at St. Peter's Basilica. This is no coincidence as Juvarra studied and worked in Rome for ten years prior to working in Turin. The temple front protrudes from a dome structure citing the Pantheon. The temple front is larger than typical proportions because the Superga is set upon this hill. It is also believed that Victor Amadeus wanted the basilica to rest on this hill as reminder of the power of the Savoy family as well as continue a line of sight to the existing Castle of Rivoli. Later, the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi completed the triangle between the three residences of Savoy.
The Royal Crypt of Superga is the burial place of the Savoy family.
The history of the church can be traced to 2 September 1706, when Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and the Prince of Carignano, Eugene of Savoy climbed the hill to see Turin besieged by Franco-Spanish forces during the War of the Spanish Succession. Victor Amadeus, having knelt down in front of an old prop, swore that, in case of victory, he would have a monument built to our Lady (the Virgin Mary). From dawn until the early hours of the afternoon of 7 September the armies clashed in the fields at Jaya and Madonna di Campagna. Piedmontese armies achieved victory over the French. After Victor Amedeus was crowned King of Sicily he entrusted the design of this building to Filippo Juvarra.
The mountain on which the Basilica is found was the site of the Superga air disaster of Grande Torino football team in 1949.
The Royal crypt is the traditional burial place of members of the House of Savoy, successively Dukes of Savoy, Kings of Sardinia and Kings of Italy. Two kings of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, have been interred in the Pantheon, Rome. The earlier generations of the House of Savoy as well as the last king of Italy, Umberto II, are buried in Hautecombe Abbey, the ancestral burial site of the family in Savoy.
The Pantheon (, ; , from Greek "Pantheion", "[temple] of all the gods") is a former Roman temple, now a Catholic church (Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres or Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs), in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). It was rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated 126 AD. Its date of construction is uncertain, because Hadrian chose not to inscribe the new temple but rather to retain the inscription of Agrippa's older temple, which had burned down.
The building is cylindrical with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, .
It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history and, since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been in use as a church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" () but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda". The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon is a state property, managed by Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism through the Polo Museale del Lazio. In 2013, it was visited by over 6 million people.
The Pantheon's large circular domed cella, with a conventional temple portico front, was unique in Roman architecture. Nevertheless, it became a standard exemplar when classical styles were revived, and has been copied many times by later architects.
Since the French Revolution, when the church of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris was deconsecrated and turned into the secular monument called the Panthéon of Paris, the generic term "pantheon" has sometimes been applied to other buildings in which illustrious dead are honoured or buried.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Marcus Agrippa started an impressive building program: the Pantheon was a part of the complex created by him on his own property in the Campus Martius in 29–19 BC, which included three buildings aligned from south to north: the Baths of Agrippa, the Basilica of Neptune, and the Pantheon. It seems likely that the Pantheon and the Basilica of Neptune were Agrippa's sacra privata, not aedes publicae (public temples). The former would help explain how the building could have so easily lost its original name and purpose (Ziolkowski contends that it was originally the Temple of Mars in Campo) in such a relatively short period of time.
It had long been thought that the current building was built by Agrippa, with later alterations undertaken, and this was in part because of the Latin inscription on the front of the temple which reads:
or in full, ""M[arcus] Agrippa L[ucii] f[ilius] co[n]s[ul] tertium fecit"," meaning "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time." However, archaeological excavations have shown that the Pantheon of Agrippa had been completely destroyed except for the façade. Lise Hetland argues that the present construction began in 114, under Trajan, four years after it was destroyed by fire for the second time (Oros. 7.12). She reexamined Herbert Bloch's 1959 paper, which is responsible for the commonly maintained Hadrianic date, and maintains that he should not have excluded all of the Trajanic-era bricks from his brick-stamp study. Her argument is particularly interesting in light of Heilmeyer's argument that, based on stylistic evidence, Apollodorus of Damascus, Trajan's architect, was the obvious architect.
The only passages referring to the decoration of the Agrippan Pantheon written by an eyewitness are in Pliny the Elder's "Natural History". From him we know that "the capitals, too, of the pillars, which were placed by M. Agrippa in the Pantheon, are made of Syracusan bronze", that "the Pantheon of Agrippa has been decorated by Diogenes of Athens, and the Caryatides, by him, which form the columns of that temple, are looked upon as masterpieces of excellence: the same, too, with the statues that are placed upon the roof," and that one of Cleopatra's pearls was cut in half so that each half "might serve as pendants for the ears of Venus, in the Pantheon at Rome".
The Augustan Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a huge fire in the year 80 AD. Domitian rebuilt the Pantheon, which was burnt again in 110 AD.
Cassius Dio, a Graeco-Roman senator, consul and author of a comprehensive "History of Rome", writing approximately 75 years after the Pantheon's reconstruction, mistakenly attributed the domed building to Agrippa rather than Hadrian. Dio appears to be the only near-contemporaneous writer to mention the Pantheon. Even by the year 200, there was uncertainty about the origin of the building and its purpose:
In 202, the building was repaired by the joint emperors Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla (fully "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus"), for which there is another, smaller inscription on the architrave of the façade, under the aforementioned larger text. This now-barely legible inscription reads:
The building's consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment, destruction, and the worst of the spoliation that befell the majority of ancient Rome's buildings during the early medieval period. However, Paul the Deacon records the spoliation of the building by the Emperor Constans II, who visited Rome in July 663:
Remaining at Rome twelve days he pulled down everything that in ancient times had been made of metal for the ornament of the city, to such an extent that he even stripped off the roof of the church [of the blessed Mary], which at one time was called the Pantheon, and had been founded in honour of all the gods and was now by the consent of the former rulers the place of all the martyrs; and he took away from there the bronze tiles and sent them with all the other ornaments to Constantinople.
Much fine external marble has been removed over the centuries – for example, capitals from some of the pilasters are in the British Museum. Two columns were swallowed up in the medieval buildings that abutted the Pantheon on the east and were lost. In the early 17th century, Urban VIII Barberini tore away the bronze ceiling of the portico, and replaced the medieval campanile with the famous twin towers (often wrongly attributed to Bernini) called "the ass's ears", which were not removed until the late 19th century. The only other loss has been the external sculptures, which adorned the pediment above Agrippa's inscription. The marble interior has largely survived, although with extensive restoration.
Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been the site of several important burials. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. In the 15th century, the Pantheon was adorned with paintings: the best-known is the "Annunciation" by Melozzo da Forlì. Filippo Brunelleschi, among other architects, looked to the Pantheon as inspiration for their works.
In 1747, the broad frieze below the dome with its false windows was "restored," but bore little resemblance to the original. In the early decades of the 20th century, a piece of the original, as could be reconstructed from Renaissance drawings and paintings, was recreated in one of the panels.
Two kings of Italy are buried in the Pantheon: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto's Queen, Margherita.
The Pantheon is in use as a Catholic church. Masses are celebrated there on Sundays and holy days of obligation. Weddings are also held there from time to time.
On 23 July 1725, the Pantheon was established as Cardinal-deaconry of S. Maria ad Martyres, i.e. a titular church for a cardinal-deacon.
On 26 May 1929, this deaconry was suppressed to establish the Cardinal Deaconry of S. Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine.
The building was originally approached by a flight of steps. Later construction raised the level of the ground leading to the portico, eliminating these steps.

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