Wonders – Haiku 2022 #ThursdayDoors

Posted bySuzette BenjaminPosted inPoetry, Thursday Doors
Entrance -Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs,  Piazza della Rotonda, Rome, Image credit: Clay Morrison / flickr

persistence knocks

longevity’s bronze doors

Wonders resurrect

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These legendary bronze doors are the entrance to the Basilica of St. Mary and The Martyrs, Piazza della Rotonda, Rome. The building (more commonly known as The Pantheon) rests on the remains of two previous iterations: one burnt to the ground, and the other struck by lightning. These massive 20-ton ( 18, 000 kilograms) doors (circa. 125 AD) are apparently so well preserved, that controversy still surrounds the door’s status as the oldest surviving intact doors in use in Rome today— despite expert authentication attesting to their second-century chronology.

Trivia: These doors (Hadrian’s doors), towering at 17.5 meters high by 4.3 meters wide (24 feet X 14 feet)—also known as the entrance to the Eighth Wonder of The Ancient World, are apparently so precisely weighted/ hinged that even today it takes only one person to open this monolithic aperture.

Below – A close up of the bronze entrance doors: Basilica of St. Mary and The Martyrs, Rome:

View from the ground up – Entrance to the Basilica of St. Mary and The Martyrs. (The Pantheon), Rome – Image credit: freeimages.com

Wider angle with the doors visible between the central Doric-architecture columns of the world-famous facade below:

 Piazza della Rotonda – Pantheon Rome, Image Credit: ©Tomas1111 / Dreamstime

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Written for #ThursdayDoors – Dan Antion – @ No Facilities

Published by Suzette Benjamin

Positive thinker, inspirational, writer, faith

54 thoughts on “Wonders – Haiku 2022 #ThursdayDoors”

  7. Your poetry reflects so well on the magnificent doors, and their purpose. Thanks for the information about the doors. I can’t imagine making or hanging these doors, let alone getting them to swing easily. It’s amazing what craftsmen can do.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Thank.you Dan. Yes, craft persons can imagine and create some astounding things. Superheros in my mind. And to think that some do so with limited high tech gadgets is astonishing.
      Thank you for hosting Thursday doors.
      Bless you 🚪

      Liked by 2 people

    1. So pleased that you found them of interest.They are legendary marvels indeed.
      A beautiful insight Jeff. Hiow true that opportunity knocks and one has a window within which to grab hold of its gift. Thank you my friend, for your support.

      Liked by 2 people

  15. A structure of magnificence
    I can only imagine the sense of wonder standing beneath the oculus in the dome beaming natural lighting.

    A traveller’s haiku love it.

    Liked by 4 people

      1. Wow, yes, now that you raise it, mind-blowing, over centuries for that matter.
        I did. You are welcome poet.

        I love the doors I have witnessed😂☺
        Absolutely original and thought-provoking💯❤

        Liked by 2 people

  17. Thanks Suzette the builders were unbelievable engineers back then. That always fascinates me that there are things they could do so long ago that we still don’t know how to do today. Beautiful piece and very interesting piece on such an old and historic building. Blessings to you and your family and happy weekend. Hugs, Joni

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Absolutely so! The gift of building dates back a long time. What brilliance of mind to create edifices and their doors especially with the hope that they would withstand the ravages of time is awe-inspiring.
      Sendind love and light to you. Happy weekend, Joni

      Liked by 2 people

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