Largest necropolis in the Mediterranean.

A secret hatch containing two parchments was discovered in this statue over 40 years after its installation.

A treasure trove of Renaissance-era funerary art in a Roman church built on top of Nero's grave.

Hidden beneath the famous St. Peter's Basilica is a veritable city of the dead that may hold the remains of St. Peter himself.

Breathtaking and huge 430 year old maps of Italy.

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

The Pope’s secret escape route.

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."

The martyr's wax-enhanced skeletal remains lie preserved in a glass case in the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

The engineering wonder and pleasure dome of a much-maligned emperor still holds undiscovered secrets.

A Nesting Doll of Churches.

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.

2300-year-old Roman road connecting the empire.

Jesus' footprints and the first catacombs in the world.

This beautiful park on the outskirts of Rome protects the ruins of two colossal ancient aqueducts.

An ancient underground cultic temple where sunlight penetrates on the summer solstice.

The city of Palestrina was built around this magnificent terraced sanctuary dedicated to the pagan goddess Fortuna.

Italy's third-largest Roman arena gives a peek into the underground operations beneath the ancient spectacles.

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

A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient Roman religious cult contains an exquisite traditional fresco.