Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

Jesus' footprints and the first catacombs in the world.

2300-year-old Roman road connecting the empire.

Breathtaking and huge 430 year old maps of Italy.

An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.

If you want to talk to the Pope you will have to stare down this surreal vision of Jesus rising from a nuclear hell.

This Roman arch marks the location of an ancient gate at one of the Seven Hills of Rome.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient cult.

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

The Pope’s secret escape route.

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 crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."

This hidden Art Nouveau courtyard is an opulent feast for the eyes.

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

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.

Hidden beneath the famous St. Peter's Basilica is a veritable city of the dead that may hold the remains of St. Peter himself.

People have been living in the cave houses on this Italian hillside since the Neolithic era.