Pantheon

Dedicated to all the gods by Marcus Agrippa in 27 B.C., the iconic Pantheon in Rome's Centro Storico has twice burned and been rebuilt before assuming its current appearance under the reign of Hadrian. Conversion to a church in 609 A.D. saved the building from the fate suffered by most other “pagan” buildings. Ever since, its architecture has impressed visitors including Michelangelo, who declared it “angelic and not human design.” Once displaying the gods, the interior niches now include the works of many Italian masters.