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.

A labyrinth of ancient tunnels hidden below the city holds the ruins of 2,500 years of history.

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.

The glowing blue Nymphaeum of Emperor Tiberius.

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

For hundreds of years, this huge figure has been blessing visitors before they explore his body.

A brutalist gem towering over the heart of Milan.

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

This grisly effigy displays an early Christian martyr who was skinned alive and beheaded.

Milan's duomo is covered in beautiful carving including a curious "dinosaur-like" beast.

This giant middle finger statue sends an unambiguous message to Italy's bankers.

The mark of the Devil's horns on a marble column in Milan.

This statue of the legendary Austrian composer is hidden in the center of an Italian town.

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

Centuries ago, red and white wine poured from the statue's breasts whenever a new Venetian ruler was elected.

Stare out over the lagoon and beyond from this 10th-century campanile on the island where the city of Venice began.

The small peaceful island off the Venice tourist circuit is where the city began more than 1,500 years ago.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

The marble facade hides a little-known medical museum with early surgical instruments and rare copies of canonical texts.

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.