Armenian monks at an island monastery in the Venetian Lagoon make a rare rose petal jam.

This abandoned island off the Venetian coast has been a radical monastery, a political prison, and a secret Nazi base.

Macabre astrological automaton clock dating to the late 1400s.

Every Easter, a small Sicilian town builds a stunning cathedral out of bread.

At a Bangkok bistro, one pot of beef stew has been cooking non-stop for more than 45 years.

100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

A small island less than half a mile from Venice is a forbidden island with a dark and twisted past.

A giant bug impaled on a 75-foot-tall needle.

This whimsical statue dumps water on its head to symbolize knowledge flowing into his brain. Or maybe booze.

This 14th century tower house was once the home of Irish poet W.B. Yeats.

Ruins battered by centuries of war and disaster offer a wondrous glimpse of medieval Ireland.

The oldest inn in Kilkenny was established by the first convicted witch in Ireland.

A rocky Irish outcropping with a history of wealth, conflict, and ruin.

Small, privately owned island divided between Michigan and Ohio with abandoned vacation homes and a derelict lighthouse.

Replicas of Apollo's leonine stone guard cats still line a sacred row in Greece.

This remarkable cave was discovered after a shepherd watched bees enter and exit through a small fissure.

A minotaur, a labyrinth, and a dubious restoration pull in visitors from around the world.

This legendary city has been a tourist attraction for centuries.

Perched on a spindly rock spire in a Greek archipelago, this lighthouse would make a perfect wizard's tower.

The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

A spectacular cave and a beguiling lake.

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

This burial pyramid in central Ireland is thousands of miles and thousands of years away from its Egyptian inspiration.