An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.

One of the best-preserved Roman amphitheaters is still used today, but for less brutal events.

These tenacious 14th-century towers defied demolition and are now a fairytale vacation rental.

Take a walk in a recreation of ancient Rome.

Something's missing between the arcades of the Palazzo della Ragione in "the city of the three withouts."

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

One of the world's oldest working clocks is curiously missing the Zodiac sign of Libra.

The oldest botanical garden in the world that technically isn't the oldest.

One of the largest squares in Europe contains an entire artificial island.

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

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

This deconsecrated church has seen many uses, from a tobacco storehouse to a cinema.

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

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

According to tradition this is the oldest church in Venice, but its actual age is a mystery.

Hanging within this medieval church are the bones of a beast allegedly slain by a fourth-century saint.

A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

Venice's island of the dead.

In the past, Renaissance sex workers were encouraged to entice customers on this bridge.

Where Venice's gondolas go for a tune-up.

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.

Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.