A 1950s beatnik coffee house, turned 60s counterculture hotspot, turned modern music venue.

An abandoned Roman salami factory has found new life as an art space home to 200 squatters.

This beautiful park on the outskirts of Rome protects the ruins of two colossal ancient aqueducts.

Italy's third-largest Roman arena gives a peek into the underground operations beneath the ancient spectacles.

A sulfuric hellscape in southern Italy.

Dug as a secret royal escape route, the tunnel became a wartime bomb shelter and dumping ground for vintage cars.

The oldest volcanology research center in the world.

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

A fairy tale castle in modern Rome.

This gallery commissioned by Cardinal Spada is known for its magnificent optical illusion.

Rome's semi-secret peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.

The best preserved Paleochristian basilica in Rome hides a number of oddities and secrets.

This is the oldest Roman-made bridge in the city still existing in its original state.

In Rome’s Jewish ghetto, a 200-year-old bakery still makes the neighborhood’s historic sweets.

The only remaining arch of the oldest stone bridge in Rome stands in the middle of the Tiber.

This curious, round temple is the oldest still-standing marble building in Rome.

This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

Charles Dickens was not a fan of the ghastly wall dressings in this 6th century church.

Its interior is adorned with some of the best examples of early Christian mosaics.

A fortified medieval basilica on the Caelian Hill preserves extraordinary frescoes and one of Rome's most beautiful hidden cloisters.

The spot where the fascist dictator made some of his most famous speeches including declaring war on Britain and France.

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.

A Nesting Doll of Churches.

The ruins of the largest gladiatorial school in Rome are largely hidden under modern streets.