stephentschudi's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Vatican City

Vatican City Walls

Historic fortifications form the boundary of Vatican City, but it’s not entirely surrounded by walls.
Rome, Italy

Lacus Curtius

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

Cloaca Maxima

The "Greatest Sewer" of ancient Rome is one of the oldest sewer systems in the world, and is still in use.
Rome, Italy

The Mouth of Truth

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.
Rome, Italy

The Catacombs of San Sebastian

Jesus' footprints and the first catacombs in the world.
Florence, Italy

Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents)

Renaissance hospital featuring a rotating door into which unwanted babies were dropped.
Florence, Italy

Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy

The oldest operating pharmacy in the world features 800-year-old recipes.
Florence, Italy

Fresco of John Hawkwood

In Florence's great Duomo, a 26 foot fresco honors a mercenary famous for attacking Florence.
Florence, Italy

The Bull of Santa Maria del Fiore

This strange bovine gargoyle is said to have been put in as a passive aggressive form of revenge.
Florence, Italy

Vasari Corridor

This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.
Florence, Italy

Buontalenti Grotta

A large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.
Florence, Italy

Medici Hall of Maps (Sala delle Carte Geografiche)

Over 50 exquisite hand-painted Renaissance maps decorate a Medici storage room.
Florence, Italy

Il Porcellino

This bronze boar's snout has been rubbed to a golden sheen by visitors seeking good fortune.
Siena, Italy

St. Catherine of Siena's Severed Head

A dismembered holy head stares out from her beautiful reliquary at the St. Dominic Basilica.
Riomaggiore, Italy

Via dell’Amore

A lover's walk between hilltop towns, decorated with graffiti love notes.
Vernazza, Italy

Cinque Terre

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.
Zurich, Switzerland

The Schwamendingen X

Unconventional site where the tracks of Zurich tramcars intersect.
St. Gallen, Switzerland

Abbey Library of Saint Gall

This is not only one of the oldest collections in Europe, but also possibly the most beautiful.
Alupka, Crimea

Vorontsov Palace

This magnificent Crimean estate was once a playground of the Russian elite.
Haspra, Crimea

The Swallow's Nest

A castle perched precariously over the Crimean Sea.
Sofia, Bulgaria

Statue of Sveta Sofia

"Holy Wisdom" overlooks the city that became its namesake.
Sofia, Bulgaria

The Largo

Sofia's legislative center is continuously reinventing itself.
Sofia, Bulgaria

National Palace of Culture

A vast Communist-era exhibition space in the Bulgarian capital.
Sofia, Bulgaria

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

A striking symbol of the Bulgarian capital.