This historic recreationist school churns out warriors that may very well have had a fighting chance in Rome's pits of the day.

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

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

Architectural monsters are devouring this palace's every door and window.

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

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats.

Beneath Kraków Old Town's main square lies a hologram-filled medieval market vampire graveyard wonderland.

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.

A collection of objects supposedly singed by the hands of souls in purgatory.

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient cult.

St. Francesca Romana, patron saint of drivers, resides in the church she founded.

This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

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

This former Roman Catholic Church still contains the embalmed hearts and organs of 22 popes.

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

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

One of seven Jewish catacombs in Rome and one of only two open to the public.

This hill made entirely of ancient Roman jars was simply a garbage dump to the people of the time.

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 snapshot of the city's fascinating voodoo culture.

The restaurant keeps a hidden séance room on the second floor and reserves a table for the spirit of the former owner each night.

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.

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