Rome's semi-secret peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.

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

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."

A quiet Sicilian village is home to a cafe that had an important role in "The Godfather."

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

Behind medieval walls in a corner of bustling Palermo is a breathtaking former mosque once inhabited by a wolf-taming hermit.

Every inch of this chapel is covered in craftsmanship from across the world.

Stare out over the lagoon and beyond from this 10th-century campanile on the island where the city of Venice began.

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.

Where Venice's gondolas go for a tune-up.

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.

The small peaceful island off the Venice tourist circuit is where the city began more than 1,500 years ago.

A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

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

Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.

The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel, where they were hidden for nearly 500 years.

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

The middle finger of modernity.

Largest necropolis in the Mediterranean.

This Italian stadium makes liberal use of fascist statuary to evoke classical sporting arenas.