The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

Ever loyal to Roma, the small village of Albe in the Abruzzo region carried on until an earthquake did it in.

One of the earliest relics of Italian art is this ornately equipped stone soldier.

Caligula's colossal pleasure ships, discovered by Mussolini only to be lost in flames.

One of Catholicism's four major basilicas has a series of papal portraits that are said to predict the end of the world.

A dead saint, a deadly poison, and a mysterious holy ooze.

This Arabesque Italian castle was built with a primitive, if ingenious, air-conditioning system.

This elaborate hole in the ground was built as a sacred site for an ancient civilization.

Largest necropolis in the Mediterranean.

Every inch of this chapel is covered in craftsmanship from across the world.

The Emperor Tiberius' palace of debauchery.

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

Southern Italy's spinning top village.

Fountain where visitors can earn a license to be mad.

This picturesque Umbrian city has a subterranean side that has long remained hidden.

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.

The world's most active stratovolcano is almost always erupting.

Italian cave with exceptional acoustics and an unsavory history.

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

Virgil's many-mouthed gateway to the underworld.

The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.