daveschaaf's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Venice, Italy

Lazzaretto Nuovo

The plague quarantine island home to the alleged "Vampire of Venice."
Venice, Italy

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

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

San Servolo Insane Asylum Museum

Venice's "Island of the Mad."
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

The Mad Colored Houses of Burano

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

Statue of Fernando I

A plaque on the base of this statue holds a bewitching design.
Florence, Italy

Fresco of John Hawkwood

In Florence's great Duomo, a 26 foot fresco honors a mercenary famous for attacking Florence.
Florence, Italy

Gipsoteca Bartolini

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

Cimitero delle Porte Sante (Sacred Doors Cemetery)

The graveyard is filled with beautiful funerary art and boasts breathtaking views of Florence.
Florence, Italy

La Specola Zoological Museum

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

Studiolo Francesco I de’ Medici

Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.
Florence, Italy

Vasari Corridor

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

Il Porcellino

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

L’importuno di Michelangelo

The famous sculptor left his mark on this Italian wall in an internationally protected example of street art.
Florence, Italy

Medici Hall of Maps (Sala delle Carte Geografiche)

Over 50 exquisite hand-painted Renaissance maps decorate a Medici storage room.
Florence, Italy

Buontalenti Grotta

A large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.
Florence, Italy

Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy

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

Cava Museo

Explore the quarry where the marble was sourced for Michaelangelo's David.
Monterosso al Mare, Italy

Il Gigante

The bomb-ravaged remains of of a colossal Neptune.