A whimsical bridge adorned with decorative dragons.

One of the largest caves in the world open to the public.

These pools have been abandoned for over 20 years.

During World War II, this rice mill became a Nazi concentration camp.

One of the tallest lighthouses in the world also serves as a monument to the fallen of World War I.

This beautiful 14th-century castle perched on a promontory overlooks the Bay of Trieste.

Europe's only Temple of Mithras located in a natural cave.

Two bronze wolves atop this large rock honor the "Wolves of Tuscany" brigade of World War I.

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

Next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a cemetery home to ancient sarcophagi and disturbing murals.

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

An island on the Venetian Lagoon hosts this stone chair that has nothing to do with the King of the Huns.

This Roman monument is surrounded by more recent construction, offering a stark contrast between ancient architecture and the modern urban landscape.

Venice's "Island of the Mad."

This sturdy, circular stronghold served as one of the forts that protected the Venetian Lagoon.

The plague quarantine island home to the alleged "Vampire of Venice."

Hanging within this medieval church are the bones of a beast allegedly slain by a fourth-century saint.

Venice's island of the dead.

The only museum with its curator—and her pets—buried inside.

A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

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

In the past, Renaissance sex workers were encouraged to entice customers on this bridge.

According to tradition this is the oldest church in Venice, but its actual age is a mystery.

Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.