Deceased nuns were placed on stone chairs to decompose, while the surviving nuns prayed near the lifeless bodies.

Stumbling upon this whimsical wooded garden is like stepping into an enchanted forest full of philosophical musings.

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

In the world's oldest university is a stunning 17th century anatomical theater carved from spruce.

An extraordinary house museum and cabinet of curiosities in the heart of Florence.

A burial vault located under Tiber Island in the middle of the Italian capital.

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

This hydrochronometer was invented by a Dominican monk and is a prime feature in this garden.

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

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

The burial place of an obscure North African saint was turned into a macabre body preservation factory for the 17th-century Neapolitan elite.

Eighteen mummies have stood guard behind the altar of this tiny church since 1833.

This precariously perched fortress was once ruled by a crow-worshipping baron.

The walls and streets of the ancient city are peppered with penises.

St. Francesca Romana, patron saint of drivers, resides in the church she founded.

The Neapolitan Cult of the Dead still cares for the skulls at this mini-Fontanelle.

This curious building hides eclectic details like medieval gargoyles alongside naked angels and Art Nouveau mosaics.

Anatomical cabinet holds unexpected treasures.

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.

An extraordinary collection of 18th century anatomical waxworks.

The bomb-ravaged remains of of a colossal Neptune.

This subterranean shrine beneath a bike rental store celebrates the iconic Italian scooter.

Europe’s oldest natural human mummy.

Overlooked amid the tourist bustle of Florence, this museum is dedicated to the craft of stone inlay.