Ancient in Italy

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

Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.

This tiny islet has somehow housed an ancient temple, two monasteries, a church, a fortress, and a restaurant.

Buried next to Pompeii, this lesser-known Roman villa was the opulent vacation home of Emperor Nero's wife.

An abandoned 17th-century baroque hunting lodge with a wonderfully strange architectural plan.

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

A single column facing the sea is all that's left of one of the most important temples of Magna Graecia.

The construction of a new church near Venosa was started in the 11th century, but never finished.

This beautiful park on the outskirts of Rome protects the ruins of two colossal ancient aqueducts.

The city of Palestrina was built around this magnificent terraced sanctuary dedicated to the pagan goddess Fortuna.

This splendid mosaic embodies ancient Rome's fascination with the exotic allure of Egypt.

This ancient altar emerges from the thick forests to reveal the mysteries of Etruscan sacrificial rituals.

A fascinating assortment of cave dwellings, medieval ruins, and sarcophagi are being devoured by the forest.

Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini fell in love with this lonely 13th-century tower while making his most famous film.

A dreamlike medieval church dug into the tuff rock, with unusual carvings and possible traces of the Templar knights.

Ancient ruins hidden underneath a modern luxury hotel.