The smaller of the three towers of San Marino is a former prison inaccessible from the ground level.

High in the clouds of San Marino sits an ancient tower with some curious prisoner graffiti.

The only Shinto shrine in Europe that has been officially sanctioned by Japan.

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

This natural gas vent certainly earns its name as the smallest volcano in Italy.

Since the 1960s, this small village has invited painters to decorate its walls.

Sitting on an Italian hilltop is this surreal fortress built by the mad inventor of electrohomeopathy.

One of the world's oldest working clocks is curiously missing the Zodiac sign of Libra.

The oldest botanical garden in the world that technically isn't the oldest.

A room filled with frescos that make it seem like the walls are crumbling down while giants die in despair.

David Sedaris called it "The greatest shop in the world."

In this medieval church, a centuries-old stuffed crocodile hangs from the ceiling.

A rambling museum which honors the beauty in everyday objects.

Ham is serious business at the Prosciutto Museum-Serious, delicious business.

Italy's curious field of mud volcanoes is named for being both gross AND salty.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

A whale rib was used to advertise the store by the arch that offered exotic goods from far away.

This Italian foot path winds through the mountains via 52 individual tunnels.

An open-air museum in a mountain valley features works designed to blend in with—and disintegrate back into—their natural surroundings.

Artist Diego Morlin's war between the natural and human worlds is a wanderer's delight.

A visionary Italian architect created an impressive cluster of concrete structures for a family's private tomb.

Hidden in an Italian forest is a completely homemade amusement park that has taken a lifetime to create.

A haunting collection of sunken wooden barges litters this Italian river bend.

During World War II, this rice mill became a Nazi concentration camp.