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

A dismembered holy head stares out from her beautiful reliquary at the St. Dominic Basilica.

Venice's island of the dead.

This winding road through an Italian canyon may be the most scenic drive in the world.

Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.

More sculpture than building, this architecturally significant temple was built on the spot of Saint Peter's crucifixion.

The martyr's wax-enhanced skeletal remains lie preserved in a glass case in the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.

Filled with goldfish swimming in a shallow pool of sea water, this ancient crypt is more wishing well than burial site.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

This former Roman Catholic Church still contains the embalmed hearts and organs of 22 popes.

Skulls from the plague of 1656 and World War II bombings are united by a cult dedicated to caring for the ancient dead.

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.

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

This centuries-old Italian chapel hangs midway down a sheer cliffside.

Jesus' footprints and the first catacombs in the world.

An ossuary built in 1210 to collect bones from the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel, where they were hidden for nearly 500 years.

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

Geothermal waterfalls in Tuscany.

Thousands of well-dressed mummies below a monastery.

Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.

The middle finger of modernity.