A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

A spiritual sanctuary in a natural cave.

This skeletal, unfinished Gothic church once housed a miraculous masterpiece by Raphael.

Three underground crypts and a pointed arch under the bell tower make this cathedral unique among Romanesque churches.

A dreamlike medieval church dug into the tuff rock, with unusual carvings and possible traces of the Templar knights.

The marshy karst plain has reclaimed this beautiful 17th-century church.

This overgrown mountain village has been abandoned for nearly a century.

A fascinating assortment of cave dwellings, medieval ruins, and sarcophagi are being devoured by the forest.

This monastery built into a cliff hides a perfectly preserved hermit in a glass coffin.

The construction of a new church near Venosa was started in the 11th century, but never finished.

Hanging within this medieval church are the bones of a beast allegedly slain by a fourth-century saint.

An abandoned bell tower in the middle of nowhere is the last testimony of a forgotten medieval village.

A small Byzantine church lost in the middle of the mountains of southern Italy.

This breathtaking monastery was established by Saint Benedict himself 1,500 years ago.

Remnants of a 4th-century church with vivid medieval frescoes and ancient sarcophagi hide beneath this old basilica.

This church carved into the rocks is full of enchanting stone statues.

This Romanesque church is built over the tomb of a martyr who legend says defeated a dragon.

The old church, buried by the 1784 Mount Vesuvius eruption, is a remarkably well-preserved place where people now pray for the souls of the dead.

An unusual "skull with ears" sits in the crypt of this small church tucked away at the end of a narrow alley.

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

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

A submerged archeological park still holds the wonders of a Roman Sodom.

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered.

A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.