This region of Slovakia boasts some of the most plentiful opal mines in the world.

Two giant painted cooling towers make for one of the world’s most epic bungee jumps.

An ancient church on a tiny island covered in stone bible stories has controversially been turned into a museum.

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.

This daunting 1st century fortress was purportedly the site of one of the most dramatic revolts of the Jewish-Roman wars.

This Italian ski resort rose to fame when Benito Mussolini was held prisoner there and then rescued by the SS.

The now-abandoned Fascist summer colony served a dark purpose during World War II.

This breathtaking monastery was established by Saint Benedict himself 1,500 years ago.

A line of abandoned, alien-like fortresses dot the mountains of North Italy.

A sulfuric hellscape in southern Italy.

A volcanic old faithful, Stromboli has been erupting continuously for the last 2000 years.

These delicate sand pyramids look like naturally occurring gothic spires.

This mosaic-lined medieval church was built by the world's first admiral and still holds mass in ancient Greek.

A once-luxurious, now abandoned hotel in the Italian Alps.

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

A Milanese café entirely designed by the American director Wes Anderson.

Giant, pink stuffed rabbit on an Italian mountain.

This 16th-century monastery has been turned into a surrealist architecture compound.

An Italian hillside ghost town.

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.

According to the local folklore, the myriad colors of this lake are the result of a lovelorn wizard's blunder.

Geothermal waterfalls in Tuscany.

This functioning parish church is also the site of many concert performances due to its wonderful acoustics.

This abandoned mining village was predicted to resist decay longer than any other modern human settlement.