Historic fortifications form the boundary of Vatican City, but it’s not entirely surrounded by walls.

Breathtaking and huge 430 year old maps of Italy.

In Tucson a giant metal snake helps pedestrians cross a busy highway.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

This monument on Breed's Hill proves that one of the most famous battles of the Revolutionary War is misnamed.

Berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, "Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat.

Numerical symbolism abound at East Asia's oldest observatory.

A detailed pachyderm supports Rome's smallest Egyptian obelisk.

A treasure trove of Renaissance-era funerary art in a Roman church built on top of Nero's grave.

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.

The engineering wonder and pleasure dome of a much-maligned emperor still holds undiscovered secrets.

The only "Egyptian" pyramid in Europe and the legendary tomb of Remus.

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.

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

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

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

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

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

Over 100 towers were built in Bologna during the Middle Ages, but only 22 survive.

These medieval skyscrapers dominate the skyline of this small Tuscan town.

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

The naturally mummified body of a peasant girl saint.