Wondrous sandstone hoodoos where Native Americans collected clay for pottery, 9,000 years ago.

Historic, 19th-century wagon wheel ruts cut into soft volcanic ash.

In Portugal, a secluded stretch of untouched natural beauty hides at the bottom of a steep hill.

An ancient and majestic fortress that played an integral role in Portugal's road to independence.

This eccentrically decorated palace is replete with grottoes, fountains, tunnels, and caves.

These "mermaids" that surround a plaza in Segovia are rather sphinx-like.

In the early 1900s, hundreds of Black Americans found opportunity in this now-abandoned rural community.

This seaside Italian village doesn't just look Escher-esque, it actually inspired the mind-bending artist.

Final resting place of a 19th century gold prospector and convicted cannibal.

The decaying ruins of a failed mining company’s water diversion project cling to the side of a desert canyon.

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

This bustling Italian plaza is built on the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater.

A factory director designed what was the world's longest suspension footbridge in 1923 so his employees could get to work safely.

This Tuscan lake hides a 13th century town that is still visible when the water recedes.

The bomb-ravaged remains of of a colossal Neptune.

Ham is serious business at the Prosciutto Museum-Serious, delicious business.

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

According to the local folklore, the myriad colors of this lake are the result of a lovelorn wizard's blunder.

Stalactites and stalagmites in a beautifully lit cave.

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient cult.

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

The middle finger of modernity.

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

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