The odd depiction of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus is rooted in the Catholic Church's eradication of Catharism.

A madman's personal garden filled with 1,000 sculpted heads.

The marble facade hides a little-known medical museum with early surgical instruments and rare copies of canonical texts.

A gorgeous medieval library where the books are kept in chains.

The best preserved Paleochristian basilica in Rome hides a number of oddities and secrets.

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

Water and windows define this defensive Italian well.

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

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

Italian poet Dante Alighieri is entombed in this small mausoleum in Ravenna, and his hometown of Florence has never been too happy about it.

An Italian geologic wonder that served as the inspiration for the landscape of Dante's hell.

The mummified relic of St. Catherine sits forever on a golden throne.

This mosaic-lined medieval church was built by the world's first admiral and still holds mass in ancient Greek.

Beautiful views and Roman-style statues on the Italian coast.

An amazing collection of wax anatomical models and terratological models.

These gutted monastery ruins still stand proudly in the middle of the Italian countryside.

The world's oldest surviving anatomical theater, where "the dead are pleased to help the living."

A stunning bridge that appears as if it's lunging to the shore, and has a legend of a devilish architect.

"The prettiest love letters in the world" ... or so said Lord Byron.

A fairytale-like medieval church perched atop a rocky cliff on Italy's "Coast of the Gods."

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

Brass cobblestones mark the places where individual Holocaust victims were taken from their homes.

An extraordinary collection of 18th century anatomical waxworks.

This abandoned island off the Venetian coast has been a radical monastery, a political prison, and a secret Nazi base.