This decoration above a door, an unofficial family crest, is said to come alive during the night to try to get free of the stone.

The oldest church in Mantua was buried for centuries under the facades of other structures.

A hidden bas-relief of a hare on a church main portal that brings good luck to the ones who find it.

It took more than 300 years to build this church, which is home to two sacred vessels believed to hold the blood of Christ.

A medieval tower with a suspended iron cage used as an open-air jail for criminals who were exposed as a warning.

The seat of the Mantua bishop holds many secrets within its walls.

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

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

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.

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

Those who own or stay at this 500-year-old, allegedly cursed house often meet terrible fates.

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

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

A gorgeous example of 13th-century Gothic architecture.

These elaborate gothic monuments honor Verona's medieval lords.

Atop the former site of a historic bakery sit two stone tributes to Verona's contribution to traditional Italian baking.

Not far from the more famous House of Juliet, visitors will find the supposed residence of her lover.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

A whale rib was used to advertise the store by the arch that offered exotic goods from far away.

The city of Parma's cathedral is home to one of the greatest illusionistic frescoes of the Renaissance.

Artistic tombs, monuments, and a beautiful "Hall of Fame" lurk inside this cemetery.

This strange bovine gargoyle is said to have been put in as a passive aggressive form of revenge.

Legend says this mysterious stone head belongs to a woman who was petrified by an alchemist.