This deconsecrated church has seen many uses, from a tobacco storehouse to a cinema.

Plaques on its facade commemorate the Tiber's most destructive deluges.

A striking memorial recalls thousands of Bolognese men and women killed fighting fascists in World War II.

Tourists to the mountaintop Sicilian town often overlook its ancient fortifications.

A long-buried ancient ruin unearthed right in the middle of the city.

Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.

Ever loyal to Roma, the small village of Albe in the Abruzzo region carried on until an earthquake did it in.

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

This skeletal, unfinished Gothic church once housed a miraculous masterpiece by Raphael.

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.

This triumphal 16th-century arched gateway leads to the oldest street in Palermo.

Deceased nuns were placed on stone chairs to decompose, while the surviving nuns prayed near the lifeless bodies.

Skulls and skeletons are omnipresent in this church dedicated to souls trapped in purgatory.

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.

This amazingly well-preserved villa just outside Pompeii boasts rare examples of ancient Roman paintings.

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

Haunting graffiti left by prisoners of the Spanish Inquisition.

What looks like a link in Gondor's early warning system is actually a centuries-old Italian fortress.

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

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

The walls and streets of the ancient city are peppered with penises.

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

A medieval fountain lined with 99 unique stone faces whose origins and meaning remain unknown.

In a city that boasts four separate inclined cable railways, this is one of the busiest funicular lines in the world.