The small peaceful island off the Venice tourist circuit is where the city began more than 1,500 years ago.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

The oldest operating pharmacy in the world features 800-year-old recipes.

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.

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

Legend says this mysterious stone head belongs to a woman who was petrified by an alchemist.

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

Renaissance hospital featuring a rotating door into which unwanted babies were dropped.

First founded in 1472, this is the oldest bank in the world. Its history may explain why we call financial institutions "banks."

An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.

A Nesting Doll of Churches.

The largest of London's subterranean rivers and once a mad, bad center of London life.

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

The last four extravagant street signs of London's historic banking street.

One of the few remaining casualties of the London Blitz, this destroyed church has become an enchanting public garden.

This ornate Victorian marketplace was the setting for Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron in the Harry Potter films.