A statue representing a lost Roman profession that was vandalized for centuries.

Romans decided this 16th-century "talking statue" was so ugly, they named it after a primate.

A fortified medieval basilica on the Caelian Hill preserves extraordinary frescoes and one of Rome's most beautiful hidden cloisters.

Its interior is adorned with some of the best examples of early Christian mosaics.

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.

Remnants of a 4th-century church with vivid medieval frescoes and ancient sarcophagi hide beneath this old basilica.

A detailed pachyderm supports Rome's smallest Egyptian obelisk.

One of Catholicism's four major basilicas has a series of papal portraits that are said to predict the end of the world.

Stone memorial that's said to predict the death of the pope and the site of the Cadaver Synod.

The best preserved Paleochristian basilica in Rome hides a number of oddities and secrets.

Charles Dickens was not a fan of the ghastly wall dressings in this 6th century church.

A treasure trove of Renaissance-era funerary art in a Roman church built on top of Nero's grave.

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.

The spot where the fascist dictator made some of his most famous speeches including declaring war on Britain and France.

The studio built by fascists in the hopes of "reviving the film industry" with the occasional propaganda film opportunity thrown in.

Museum dedicated to literary greats of the Romantic Period is also the home in which Keats met his untimely end.

More sculpture than building, this architecturally significant temple was built on the spot of Saint Peter's crucifixion.

A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

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

A Nesting Doll of Churches.

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

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

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.

A fairy tale castle in modern Rome.