A small window on Via Piella offers a lovely and rare peek at Bologna's lost canals.

The remains of a town so thoroughly destroyed by French forces that the citizens simply left.

This abandoned Brutalist treehouse is a hidden architectural relic.

Remnants of a 4th-century church with vivid medieval frescoes and ancient sarcophagi hide beneath this old basilica.

This unusually shaped fortress houses a blend of centuries-old frescoes and modern art.

A semi-abandoned village destroyed by U.S. bombings during World War II dominates the valley of Turano.

David Sedaris called it "The greatest shop in the world."

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.

The remains of an ancient Roman city are hidden underneath Bologna's beautiful public library.

Sitting on an Italian hilltop is this surreal fortress built by the mad inventor of electrohomeopathy.

Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.

Drink wine handed out through a window as part of an age-old tradition.

The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel, where they were hidden for nearly 500 years.

The oldest operating pharmacy in the world features 800-year-old recipes.

The famous sculptor left his mark on this Italian wall in an internationally protected example of street art.

A large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.

On rare days, this abandoned castle's gatekeepers open its doors, revealing the eye-popping splendor hidden inside.

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

A stunning bridge that appears as if it's lunging to the shore, and has a legend of a devilish architect.

The first botanical garden, a feather in the cap of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Gigantic mosaic sculptures of the figures on Tarot cards fill this colorful Tuscan garden.

A dreamlike medieval church dug into the tuff rock, with unusual carvings and possible traces of the Templar knights.

Stumbling upon this whimsical wooded garden is like stepping into an enchanted forest full of philosophical musings.

A dismembered holy head stares out from her beautiful reliquary at the St. Dominic Basilica.