Macabre astrological automaton clock dating to the late 1400s.

Rivers of cattle blood gone, a strange Escheresque building remains, the last of its kind.

Home to over 200,000 artifacts, this museum attempts to guide visitors through the ancient history of Beijing and Imperial China.

This probably wasn't what Mao had in mind.

The most famous location in China was home to whole dynasties worth of imperial rulers.

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

Genoa's collection of over 4 million zoological, botanical, and geological specimens from around the world.

Massive galleon from a box-office bomb docked in Genoa.

A sculpture serving as an homage to Pope John Paul II.

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

An ancient rogue artist community hidden next to one of the world's most glitzy and glamorous cities.

Where Venice's gondolas go for a tune-up.

A military museum, art park, mausoleum, and architectural oddity all on one fascist's estate.

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

Now an entertainment complex, the Lingotto building was once an avant-garde auto factory with a test track on the roof.

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

This former fascist summer camp was abandoned for decades.

The top of society once luxuriated in this world-class hotel, which continues to impress, even in ruin.

The mountaintop inspiration for Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose."

Fortified medieval tower house with lovely roof garden.

People have been living in the cave houses on this Italian hillside since the Neolithic era.

Two very green residential towers cleaning the air in one of Europe's most polluted cities.

Geometry and mystery come together in an epic show of octagonal masonry.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.