Churches in Italy

The odd depiction of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus is rooted in the Catholic Church's eradication of Catharism.

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

These gutted monastery ruins still stand proudly in the middle of the Italian countryside.

This centuries-old Italian chapel hangs midway down a sheer cliffside.

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

Filled with goldfish swimming in a shallow pool of sea water, this ancient crypt is more wishing well than burial site.

One of Catholicism's four major basilicas has a series of papal portraits that are said to predict the end of the world.

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

More sculpture than building, this architecturally significant temple was built on the spot of Saint Peter's crucifixion.

Built to repay the sins of the father, this church is home to one of the most valuable works of Western art.

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

An unsettling painting of three faceless sisters that is surrounded by history and legend.

A medieval fresco which reminds visitors that death will come for us all.

A preserved dragon's rib that remembers the legend of the founding of the city of Atessa.

Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.

This former Roman Catholic Church still contains the embalmed hearts and organs of 22 popes.