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

Small on the outside, big on the inside, this church is an astonishing act of visual deception.

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

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

The pile of books behind the dignified writer gave the statue a most undignified nickname.

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

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.

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

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.

Water and windows define this defensive Italian well.

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.

A lover's walk between hilltop towns, decorated with graffiti love notes.

What appears to be an ancient Roman temple is actually a Catholic church.

A dead saint, a deadly poison, and a mysterious holy ooze.

The only remaining arch of the oldest stone bridge in Rome stands in the middle of the Tiber.

This one-of-a-kind Roman arch is not actually dedicated to the god Janus.

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.

The remains of this 2nd-century Roman temple are incorporated into a modern building.

A small cell adjacent to this church was once the bedroom for a renowned saint.

Legend has it that this bronze orb, which sat atop an ancient Egyptian obelisk, once held the ashes of Julius Caesar.

Plaques on its facade commemorate the Tiber's most destructive deluges.

Caligula's colossal pleasure ships, discovered by Mussolini only to be lost in flames.

An ancient Roman temple first dedicated to an emperor's wife is now a church.