A rare example of an octagonal Catholic church.

Over 100 towers were built in Bologna during the Middle Ages, but only 22 survive.

This 6th-century church has the largest and best-preserved collection of Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople.

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.

A Milanese café entirely designed by the American director Wes Anderson.

An eerie, little-known Neapolitan museum filled with preserved human remains.

A new sculpture calls attention to climate change in the centuries-old city it threatens.

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

Centuries ago, red and white wine poured from the statue's breasts whenever a new Venetian ruler was elected.

The largest and most famous wax anatomical collection anywhere in the world.

A unique hotel for the artistic soul.

An incredible menagerie of more than 3 million taxidermied animals at the oldest science museum in Europe.

A small window on Via Piella offers a lovely and rare peek at Bologna's lost canals.

One of the world’s smallest bars, just 13 square feet, is brimming with speakeasy flair.

The skulls and bones of thousands of soldiers line the walls of this small Italian chapel.

An open-air museum in a mountain valley features works designed to blend in with—and disintegrate back into—their natural surroundings.

Romans built the world's tallest artificial waterfall in 271 BC.

Southern Italy's spinning top village.

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

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

The astonishing collection of an infamous criminologist.

This domed temple was built in a hidden cave mouth as a refuge for sinners seeking absolution.

These "anatomical machines" are only one of the many strange items in this Italian crypt.

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