Mausoleum of Bela Rosin, Neoclassical mausoleum in Mirafiori Sud, Turin, Italy
The mausoleum of Bela Rosin, known as the Pantheon of Mirafiori, is a reduced-scale copy of the Pantheon in Rome. It has a circular plan about sixteen metres in diameter and the same height, with a front portico of eight five-metre columns. The pediment carries the counts of Mirafiori's insignia and the motto "DIO PATRIA E FAMIGLIA"; a copper-clad dome topped by a Latin cross covers the interior, where eight columns frame empty niches.
Angelo Demezzi designed the mausoleum in 1886 and it was completed in 1888, built by the children of Rosa Vercellana, known as Bela Rosin, morganatic wife of Vittorio Emanuele II. Turin bought it in 1970 from her descendant Vittoria Guerrieri Gromis di Trana; two years later tomb raiders broke in and the remains were moved to the Monumental Cemetery. Restored by Aimaro Isola and Roberto Gabetti, it reopened on 25 September 2005.
The building now functions as a public library and cultural center, hosting exhibitions and literary events throughout the year. Visitors can read and participate in cultural programs inside a historical structure.
The mausoleum stands in a park on Strada Castello di Mirafiori, on the border between Turin and Nichelino; the entrance is on the western side, through a wrought-iron gate bearing the counts of Mirafiori insignia. From the gate a straight avenue leads to the building. The site is open from April to October, Wednesday to Sunday.
The pediment carries the counts of Mirafiori's insignia and the motto "DIO PATRIA E FAMIGLIA" instead of Agrippa's inscription. The eight-column pronaos copies the Pantheon, but the interior niches that once held Rosa Vercellana and her descendants are now empty, the remains having been moved to Turin's Monumental Cemetery after a 1972 break-in.
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