Relics and Reliquaries in Italy

Terni calls itself the "City of Lovers" and celebrates its links to Saint Valentine on February 14th—but is it the right Saint Valentine?

It took more than 300 years to build this church, which is home to two sacred vessels believed to hold the blood of Christ.

The relics of dozens of martyrs are stored in a single chapel.

The collar worn by a fourth-century saint resides in this church, and is still used for blessings to this day.

A monk spent 14 years carving steps through tuff to make this religious site more accessible to pilgrims.

The remains of the left arm of the levitating philosopher-saint are kept in a 13th-century Neapolitan basilica.

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.

The venerated body of a 12th century saint is celebrated each year with the 'Race of the Candles.'

The first Russian Orthodox church in the Catholic city of Rome in almost a thousand years.

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.

The odd depiction of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus is rooted in the Catholic Church's eradication of Catharism.

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.

The middle finger of modernity.

The incorrupt tongue of the patron saint of lost things is venerated in this basilica.

A preserved dragon's rib that remembers the legend of the founding of the city of Atessa.