bberve's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Rome, Italy

Mercatus Traiani (Trajan's Market)

This ancient market is often referred to as the oldest shopping mall in the world.
Florence, Italy

The Bull of Santa Maria del Fiore

This strange bovine gargoyle is said to have been put in as a passive aggressive form of revenge.
Florence, Italy

Bronze Replica of Michelangelo’s David

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.
Rome, Italy

Temple of Portunus

This small, ancient Roman temple was once a church dedicated to the patron saint of penitents.
Segovia, Spain

Segovia Aqueduct

One of the few remaining ancient aqueducts described by Frontinus as 'the most solemn testimony of the Empire.'
Segovia, Spain

Alcázar de Segovia

This magnificent castle grew from a small Moorish fortress, and reportedly inspired two iconic Disney castles.
Florence, Italy

Gipsoteca Bartolini

A slightly creepy gallery of plaster cast models in the same museum as Michelangelo's David.
Barcelona, Spain

Casa Batlló

One of Antoni Gaudí's most classic buildings is well-known for its "dragon-back" design.
Paris, France

Pont de la Concorde

This bridge was constructed from the rubble of the infamous Bastille.
Paris, France

Foucault's Pendulum

19th century pendulum and a clock restored by a rogue group of guerilla artists.
Paris, France

Musée de Cluny

Medieval museum built over Roman baths that features famous tapestries of a lady and a unicorn.
Paris, France

Shakespeare and Company

This iconic Parisian bookstore doubles as the "Tumbleweed Hotel" for traveling writers.
Albi, France

Albi Cathedral

A medieval church with largest and oldest collection of Renaissance frescoes in France.
Carcassonne, France

La Cité Médiévale de Carcassonne

Historic medieval fortified city in southwest France.
Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Lost Third Column

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.
Venice, Italy

Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists)

100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.
Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio)

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.
Florence, Italy

Michelangelo's Hidden Drawings

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

Galileo's Middle Finger

The middle finger of modernity.
Florence, Italy

Il Porcellino

This bronze boar's snout has been rubbed to a golden sheen by visitors seeking good fortune.
Florence, Italy

Vasari Corridor

This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.
Rome, Italy

Parish Church of Santa Maria del Popolo

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

Meridian Line of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs

Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.
Toledo, Spain

Museo de la Tortura

A display of torture devices used in the Spanish Inquisition and other scourges of medieval Europe.