More than 450 years ago, an Italian nun became the first woman to paint the iconic subject.

A cave in southern Italy adorned with thousand-year-old Biblical frescoes existed in obscurity until fairly recently.

One man's quest to fix his toilet unearthed over 5,000 artifacts spanning more than 2,000 years of history.

This amazingly well-preserved villa just outside Pompeii boasts rare examples of ancient Roman paintings.

A popular legend claims that the famous pizza was invented at a restaurant in this alley.

Geometry and mystery come together in an epic show of octagonal masonry.

An eccentric artist's abode in this small Italian town has been transformed into a surreal temple of mosaic madness.

Crumbling ruins of the thermal baths that once attracted royals and aristocrats from throughout Europe.

This ancient altar emerges from the thick forests to reveal the mysteries of Etruscan sacrificial rituals.

An open-air museum in a mountain valley features works designed to blend in with—and disintegrate back into—their natural surroundings.

Over 100 towers were built in Bologna during the Middle Ages, but only 22 survive.

The burial place of an obscure North African saint was turned into a macabre body preservation factory for the 17th-century Neapolitan elite.

Bell tower juts out from a village buried under a lake.

People have been living in the cave houses on this Italian hillside since the Neolithic era.

A fake medieval village in the middle of Turin.

100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.

Medieval torture techniques with a modern conscience.

The world's most active stratovolcano is almost always erupting.

This Tuscan lake hides a 13th century town that is still visible when the water recedes.

One of the largest caves in the world open to the public.

The spot where the fascist dictator made some of his most famous speeches including declaring war on Britain and France.

This magical-looking island is notorious for the misfortunes suffered by its owners.

Abandoned medieval hill town.

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