There are sacred places. And the famous Pantheon of Agrippa built in the time of Emperor Hadrian is one of them, and not for the simple fact that it first housed polytheistic cults of ancient Rome and then Christians, but because its construction was a milestone in Western architecture. Always in use, it is one of the best preserved buildings from Roman times in the capital of the Empire. It would even later become one of the models that inspired the first Italian Renaissance artists.
For all this and more (such as the very beauty and originality of the work with its rectangular portico and circular floor plan, as well as its famous open dome), the desecration of one of its exterior walls with graffiti stating: "Aliens exist" (the aliens exist), has outraged the Roman citizenry.
The authorities have begun the search for the author of the graffiti, with blue spray, while the experts have already set out to determine how to eliminate it without damaging the building, which is in delicate health. The director of the State Museums of Rome, Mariastella Margozzi, explained to Il Corriere della Sera that the use of a laser technique "which seems safer and faster" is valued. The goal is for the vandalism graffiti to disappear between Monday and Tuesday.
The members of the Retake Roma association, who for years have been cleaning up the graffiti that floods the monumental Rome on their own, today denounced this act of vandalism and demanded action from the city's mayor, Roberto Gualtieri.
Finding the person responsible for the graffiti of the Pantheon, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980, will not be easy since the area, one of the most visited in Rome, lacks surveillance cameras and those in adjoining buildings were disconnected when the vandalism occurred, as reported by local media.
