crystallyn's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Parma, Italy

Cattedrale di Parma (Parma Cathedral)

The city of Parma's cathedral is home to one of the greatest illusionistic frescoes of the Renaissance.
Parma, Italy

Gallery delle Fontane

A completely underground tour following the path of the most precious element: water.
Parma, Italy

Museo Costantiniano della Steccata

Among the collection is the shirt worn by Louis XVI when he was executed by guillotine, still marked by a few drops of blood.
Bologna, Italy

Statue of Freak Antoni

A beloved local artist has been honored with this statue of a man emerging from a toilet.
Bologna, Italy

Saint Catherine of Bologna

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

The Three Arrows

Stuck in the arcade of Casa Isolani are three arrows of mysterious origins.
Bologna, Italy

Antica Aguzzeria del Cavallo

Once known for its horse-powered knife sharpening, this 200-year-old shop offers an array of blades and hard-to-find culinary tools.
Bologna, Italy

Roman Ruins of Salaborsa Library

The remains of an ancient Roman city are hidden underneath Bologna's beautiful public library.
Venice, Italy

Torcello Bell Tower

Stare out over the lagoon and beyond from this 10th-century campanile on the island where the city of Venice began.
Venice, Italy

Attila's Throne

An island on the Venetian Lagoon hosts this stone chair that has nothing to do with the King of the Huns.
Venice, Italy

Torre Massimiliana

This sturdy, circular stronghold served as one of the forts that protected the Venetian Lagoon.
Venice, Italy

The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria

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

Libreria Acqua Alta

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.
Venice, Italy

Scuola Grande di San Marco

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

Palazzo Dario

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

Church of San Giacomo di Rialto

According to tradition this is the oldest church in Venice, but its actual age is a mystery.
Venice, Italy

Scala Contarini del Bovolo

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.
Venice, Italy

Monument to Niccolò Tommaseo

The pile of books behind the dignified writer gave the statue a most undignified nickname.
Venice, Italy

Squero di San Trovaso

Where Venice's gondolas go for a tune-up.
Venice, Italy

Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists)

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

The Head of St. John the Baptist at San Silvestro in Capite

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.
Venice, Italy

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

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