The pile of books behind the dignified writer gave the statue a most undignified nickname.

Those who own or stay at this 500-year-old, allegedly cursed house often meet terrible fates.

Originally a leper colony, the island is now an Armenian monastery that's home to an incredible manuscript library and eclectic museum.

The oldest of Venice's plague quarantine stations, designed to keep the medieval city safe from disease.

This statue of the legendary Austrian composer is hidden in the center of an Italian town.

Hidden in an Italian forest is a completely homemade amusement park that has taken a lifetime to create.

The summer residence of a Spanish ambassador who brought viticulture to an impoverished region, sparking its transformation into one of the world's best wine regions.

These caves are home to a small church and were used to age cheese.

While most books are made of wood, these wooden books are truly made of, and all about wood.

Meet the oldest inhabitants of this Italian hamlet, a series of oddly preserved mummies.

A once-magnificent collegiate church is falling into ruin.

This recently restored crypt was once plagued by liquefying coffins and exploding caskets.

The Belgian royal family's private depot now stands abandoned and forgotten alongside the tracks.

A wonderfully kitsch bookstore the size of a supermarket.

A marble Lucifer hides behind the pulpit of this Gothic cathedral.

This sprawling Belgian fort was once thought of as impenetrable but now it is simply an abandoned relic.

A 14th-century fortified keep showcases the masterpieces of an ingenious 20th-century clockmaker.

This impressive collection of skulls and bones was gathered by an ex-zookeeper who took advantage of a pig plague.

This whimsical statue dumps water on its head to symbolize knowledge flowing into his brain. Or maybe booze.

The Belgian library displays burned books that were salvaged from the fires of both world wars.

This collection of solar timekeepers includes the world's first digital sundial.

The "stairway to heaven" lookout tower was built to resist weather, arson, and the laws of physics.

This giant urban staircase was built to keep the city's brave fighting men from getting waylaid in the red light district.

This abandoned Belgian fortress is purposefully being left to nature.