The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn on the original grounds of the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson designed it to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and modeled it after the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed shortly after Jefferson's death in 1826. The campus of the new university was unique in that its buildings surrounded a library (the principal function of the Rotunda) rather than a church, as was common at other universities in the English-speaking world. To many, the Rotunda symbolizes Jefferson's belief in the separation of church and education, and represents his lifelong dedication to education and architecture. The Rotunda was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, and is part of the University of Virginia Historic District, designated in 1971. The collegiate structure, the immediate area around it, and Jefferson's nearby home at Monticello combine to form one of only six modern man-made sites in the United States to be internationally protected and preserved as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (the other five are the Old City of San Juan, the San Antonio Missions, Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty and the architectural works of Frank Lloyd Wright). The original construction cost of the Rotunda was $57,773 ($992,792 in 2006 dollars). The building stands 77 feet (23.5 m) in both height and diameter. History Design influences Jefferson's design was influenced by the architectural drawings of Andrea Palladio and is an example of Palladian architecture. The direct source for Jefferson's inspiration is believed to be a drawing of the Pantheon in the 1721 Leoni translation of Palladio, which Jefferson owned and referred to during the building process. While Jefferson used the detailed measurements of the Pantheon to guide the proportions of his Rotunda, the dimensions of his building are much smaller: the interior diameter of the Pantheon's dome is 143 feet, whereas the exterior diameter of Jefferson's dome is 77 feet, "being half that of the Pantheon and consequently one fourth in area, and one eighth in volume." B. Henry Latrobe first proposed the domed central building at the head of the Lawn in a letter to Jefferson dated July 17, 1817, and Latrobe's influence on the design of the Rotunda is substantial. Jefferson's Pavilion III also is based on a design drawing from Latrobe. Jefferson also deferred to Palladio's model for significant details of the