Image: Pantheon from Piazza Sopra Minerva

View of the east side of the Pantheon from the Piazza Santa Maria sopra Minerva, with Bernini's elephant supporting an Egyptian obelisk in the foreground. The first temple on this site was founded in 27 BC by Marcus Agrippa, who is given credit for the building on the portico inscription. But the Pantheon was completely reconstructed in 125 AD by Hadrian, a cosmopolitan emperor who had traveled widely in the East. Hadrian himself is credited with the basic plan, an architectural design that was unique for the time. Pantheon, Rome, Italy.