Tourists to the mountaintop Sicilian town often overlook its ancient fortifications.

The roof of this ancient mausoleum is made from a single Istrian stone weighing a massive 230 tons.

This cathedral hides a sculpted dog that determines your fate and an unexploded shell from World War II.

This 6th-century church has the largest and best-preserved collection of Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople.

This amazingly preserved Doric temple was abandoned before it was ever completed.

A dead saint, a deadly poison, and a mysterious holy ooze.

A copy of the famous statue can be found in this Florence piazza, along with one of the most breathtaking views of the city below.

One of Catholicism's four major basilicas has a series of papal portraits that are said to predict the end of the world.

Behind medieval walls in a corner of bustling Palermo is a breathtaking former mosque once inhabited by a wolf-taming hermit.

142 ceramic steps become a mosaic once a year.

A line of abandoned, alien-like fortresses dot the mountains of North Italy.

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

Machismo turned on its head: the lady's hand goes to the dude with the bigger brain.

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

The Roman Emperor's lost summer home and grotto full of enormous sculptures sit along the Italian seashore.

A volcanic old faithful, Stromboli has been erupting continuously for the last 2000 years.

Southern Italy's spinning top village.

These medieval skyscrapers dominate the skyline of this small Tuscan town.

Italian cave with exceptional acoustics and an unsavory history.

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.

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

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.