This enchanting 600-year-old tree is so magical it inspired the beloved tale of Pinocchio.

These gutted monastery ruins still stand proudly in the middle of the Italian countryside.

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.

Over 50 exquisite hand-painted Renaissance maps decorate a Medici storage room.

Filled with goldfish swimming in a shallow pool of sea water, this ancient crypt is more wishing well than burial site.

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

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

A large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.

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

The martyr's wax-enhanced skeletal remains lie preserved in a glass case in the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

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

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

A Nesting Doll of Churches.

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

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient cult.

Rome's semi-secret peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.