Minecraft - The Pantheon

My newest Minecraft project, the Pantheon of Rome.
Scale is 1:1 of the real building.
I'm a little divided on my primary use of diorite on this build; it was that or granite, but looking at modern photographs, I went for diorite mainly.

Historical Info:

One of Rome's finest monuments, The Pantheon is a temple built to honour all the gods worshiped by the Romans of antiquity. The idea behind it was clear: to have a temple where all gods are worshipped equally, & they all have the same patronage in one temple. This temple came into being during the time when Rome transcended from a Republic to an Empire, during which territorial expansion & military supremacy were at their most pronounced.

The temple was first constructed during the reign of Caesar Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD) by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus. The building is heavily influenced on Greek architectural principles, but having some Roman elements all it's own. The exterior features a portico of Corinthian-styled columns underneath the pediment. When it was first constructed it once featured elaborate sculptures of the Titanomachy from Greek mythology, but time has worn it out. Beyond that there is the rotunda which accounts for the majority of the building's design. On top there is a round dome spanning 43.3 meters, making it the world's largest unsupported concrete dome. To achieve this, the Romans had a special kind of concrete almost unique to the Italian Peninsula known as pozzolana. This type of concrete is known to by very strong & hard-wearing, but it is also exceptionally light, making it perfect for building such a large, unsupported dome. The dome itself features an 8.2 metre opening known as the oculus, it allowed to cast a concentrated beam of sunlight at different times of the day into the interior, but also kept the building cool for worshipers.

The original temple was destroyed in a fire in 80 AD but was quickly rebuilt by emperor Domitian (51 - 96 AD) but that temple was destroyed in another fire in 110 AD. It was rebuilt again by emperor Hadrian (76 - 138 AD) which is what we see today. As the Roman Empire started to decline, so too did the practice of fine temple building. As well as this, the emperor Constantine the Great (272 - 337 AD) had converted to Christianity, & the new religion replaced the old Roman pantheon of gods of times past. Rome had lost its prestige & was being assailed by barbarian armies, & because of this, Constantine shifted the seat of political power of the Roman Empire to the fledgling city of Constantinople, which would later become the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

In 609 AD, the Pantheon was given to the Catholic Church & changes were made for the purposes of the religion. Remarkably, after 1400 years, it still holds religious services & is dedicated to St. Mary of the Martyrs. It is a huge tourist attraction for visitors to Rome & the city's faithful, & remains one of the finest buildings in Rome.