Wat Benchamabophit Dusitwanaram

Wat Benchamabophit is instantly recognizable by the gleaming white Carrara marble imported from Italy that sheathes its ordination hall. This distinctive stone catches the sunlight, creating a pale, cool luminosity that sets the temple apart from the gilded surfaces common to other Bangkok landmarks. Commissioned by King Chulalongkorn in eighteen ninety-nine, the temple was designed by his half-brother, Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong, to blend traditional Thai tiered roofs and golden gables with structural influences from European neoclassical architecture.