Behind medieval walls in a corner of bustling Palermo is a breathtaking former mosque once inhabited by a wolf-taming hermit.

This mosaic-lined medieval church was built by the world's first admiral and still holds mass in ancient Greek.

Haunting graffiti left by prisoners of the Spanish Inquisition.

A giant milk bottle from the 1930s beckons drivers to this diner.

This triumphal 16th-century arched gateway leads to the oldest street in Palermo.

Thousands of well-dressed mummies below a monastery.

These temples are among the oldest free-standing stone buildings in the world.

Two geological phenomena in one precarious locale: a towering stone window, and a deep blue void.

This prison on the Maltese island of Gozo is almost 500 years old, and they have the graffiti to prove it.

An abandoned set from the 1980 film "Popeye," claimed and repurposed as a theme park by creative locals.

The fishing boats that moor in this small lagoon enter and leave through a tunnel to the sea.

This unique building in the main square stands out among the city's typically Baroque architecture.

Overshadowed by other, more famous Maltese catacombs, this ancient burial chamber has one of the best examples of a ritual agape table.

Burial grounds for more than 1,000 bodies deep under the modern town of Rabat.

This subterranean necropolis holds three floors of antler-dug grave caves.

This spectacular dome managed to survive after being bombed in World War II, in an event known as the "Miracle of Mosta."

Dynastic Home of the De Piro Family.

The floor of this spectacular Baroque sanctuary is covered in memento mori.

A centuries-old forgotten underworld lies beneath Malta.

Climb a steep hill in 90 seconds on the second-oldest urban subway in the world.

A replica of the first public theater built in California.

This hidden park hosts a rogue’s gallery of eccentric architectural obelisks.

Abortion, prohibition, religion, war, and fear all play a part in the history of this idiosyncratic Pacifica castle.

The peaceful gravesite of a rugged wild west gunman echoes the touching story of his last days.