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

A striking memorial recalls thousands of Bolognese men and women killed fighting fascists in World War II.

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

Naturally preserved bodies are eerily staged throughout the crypt in varying poses.

This Italian ski resort rose to fame when Benito Mussolini was held prisoner there and then rescued by the SS.

Art and armour fill every inch of this rich kid's Italian villa.

The middle finger of modernity.

An incredible menagerie of more than 3 million taxidermied animals at the oldest science museum in Europe.

The largest and most famous wax anatomical collection anywhere in the world.

A map of Italy made entirely of trees.

Two planes stand abandoned after the closure of an aircraft-themed restaurant.

This deceiving white sand beach gets its brilliant hue from the chemical discharge of a nearby factory.

Built on a medieval synagogue, this church has a burial crypt, tunnel system, and Jewish ritual bath hiding deep underneath.

Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.

The roof of this ancient mausoleum is made from a single Istrian stone weighing a massive 230 tons.

A mysterious ancient elephant said to possess magic powers is now the symbol of a Sicilian city.

This 6th-century church has the largest and best-preserved collection of Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople.

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

A military museum, art park, mausoleum, and architectural oddity all on one fascist's estate.

The wreckage of a tragic plane crash is on display at this museum devoted to a famous Italian conspiracy.

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

A sudden, striking cluster of hills south of Padua has been attracting visitors for centuries.

The 1,000-year-old abbey is the birthplace of modern musical notation.

This Arabesque Italian castle was built with a primitive, if ingenious, air-conditioning system.