The small peaceful island off the Venice tourist circuit is where the city began more than 1,500 years ago.

This seaside Italian village doesn't just look Escher-esque, it actually inspired the mind-bending artist.

A stunning cemetery famous for its extraordinarily delicate & lifelike mourning sculptures.

Europe’s oldest natural human mummy.

This strange bovine gargoyle is said to have been put in as a passive aggressive form of revenge.

Legend says this mysterious stone head belongs to a woman who was petrified by an alchemist.

Romans built the world's tallest artificial waterfall in 271 BC.

The secret medieval communication system will whisk your words above the noise of the crowd.

This bronze boar's snout has been rubbed to a golden sheen by visitors seeking good fortune.

Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

A 14th-century abbey founded by a forest-loving order of monks now sits in the center of a pristine nature preserve.

A small island in Lake Garda that was used as a burial site, pirate hideout, and a monastery.

This building features dozens of faces along its facade, although one is a bit chilling.

The remains of the last Gonzaga villa, a luxurious palace built in spite of an economic crisis.

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

A swirling spectrum of stained glass dazzles visitors who enter this subway station.

The bones of some 7,000 soldiers killed in the historic Battle of Solferino are stored here.

The skulls and bones of thousands of soldiers line the walls of this small Italian chapel.

Sitting on an Italian hilltop is this surreal fortress built by the mad inventor of electrohomeopathy.

The city of Parma's cathedral is home to one of the greatest illusionistic frescoes of the Renaissance.

This Renaissance palace features a unique architectural design and is now home to the Ferrara National Art Gallery.

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.

What happens when you cross a mayor and a painter?