A sunken idol welcomes parishioners to Davy Jones' Locker.

The location of the last witch trials of Italy, known as "The Salem of Europe."

Filled with goldfish swimming in a shallow pool of sea water, this ancient crypt is more wishing well than burial site.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel, where they were hidden for nearly 500 years.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

Ruins of a 10th century church tucked away deep in a botanical garden.

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

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

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

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

Stalactites and stalagmites in a beautifully lit cave.

The middle finger of modernity.

A submerged archeological park still holds the wonders of a Roman Sodom.

Make your own fake treats at this factory and workshop in the epicenter of Japan's food replica industry.

The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes is home to an impressive swan population—some real, some with paddles, and one with an observation deck.

The ruin of a Japanese love hotel almost completely overgrown with brambles.

The divine septet of Japanese fortune gods are rendered in 1,000 year old wood at this peaceful site.

These Japanese gardens are blankets of light for dark winter nights.

Each year this Japanese temple overflows with scowling, bearded good luck talismans.

Shells collected from over a hundred different countries line the walls, floors and ceilings of this fantasy museum.

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.

Drinkslinger is an unlikely vocation for a Buddhist monk, but at this Tokyo bar the enlightenment is served in a martini glass.