South of Bologna, a limestone grotto with a protruding waterfall and a floor full of cave pearls.

An 11th-century mountaintop fortress that played a crucial role in Italy's papal wars is now a vacation rental.

Fortified medieval tower house with lovely roof garden.

The naturally mummified body of a peasant girl saint.

The only visible reminders of an elaborate engineering project that kept the tower from reaching the tipping point.

Built in 1925, this glass-roofed shopping arcade is known for its modernist Italian architecture.

Next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a cemetery home to ancient sarcophagi and disturbing murals.

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

Inside features a display of how artistic crucifixes transformed throughout the centuries.

This Tuscan church contains a gallery of over 700 ex-votos depicting near-death experiences.

An unusual house built using an iso-elastic membrane.

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

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

A small sanctuary carved into the mountainside near the tallest point in continental Portugal.

When occupying Nazi troops detonated a mine below, medieval frescoes were revealed in this small cliff-side hermitage.

This beautiful Romanesque church preserves stunning medieval frescoes and the excavations of a Roman market town.

This hermitage celebrates the legend of Emperor Constantine's healing from leprosy.

Medieval town turned hippie commune, once home to the secret foreskin of Jesus Christ.

The meaning behind this triumphal Roman arch was a mystery until the early 20th century.

One of Rome's most picturesque and original bridges was also a popular choice for Grand Tour artists.

According to local folklore, this Roman sepulcher was once a throne for the Devil.

A fairy tale castle in modern Rome.

This Italian stadium makes liberal use of fascist statuary to evoke classical sporting arenas.

This hydrochronometer was invented by a Dominican monk and is a prime feature in this garden.