The best preserved Paleochristian basilica in Rome hides a number of oddities and secrets.

This small museum in a 17th-century building honors three iconic Scottish writers.

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

This 700-year-old structure is one of the most unique architectural and historic monuments in Gdańsk.

An icon of the Battle of Britain is frozen in flight in a grand Victorian museum.

This giant iron playfully pays tribute to an early 20th-century architectural trend.

Joe Minter is only doing the work of God in his yard, he says.

Once one of the largest producers of pig iron in the world.

A 56-foot tall statue of the god of fire looks out over Birmingham, Alabama.

Potato-peeling mannequins, Inca art, and a dangling tuber mobile help trace the history of fries at this Belgian museum.

It is said that each of the white stones in the red facade of this medieval house represents the head of a murdered Swedish noble.

This early version of the guillotine was used to execute the man responsible for its construction.

There are plenty of wonderful panoramic vistas in Edinburgh, but not many are hidden smack in the middle of the Old Town.

These tiny effigies are believed to represent victims of Edinburgh’s notorious Anatomy Murders.

The taxidermy remains of the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell are on display in Edinburgh.

A British plaque explains that a house was built using the spoils of the first international golf bet.

A 18th century graveyard and its astonishing cortege of macabre iconography.

Ruined 11th century abbey built by King David I in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Remnants of the 16th-century defensive wall still stand unassumingly within Edinburgh.

This well-preserved Cistercian Abbey in a romantic pastoral setting has inspired artists like the poet Wordsworth.

A sweet symbol marks the place where torturous executions were once carried out.

This 17th-century street hidden beneath Edinburgh was once a breeding ground for the black death.

The tomb of one of Scotland's bloody historic villains is a magnet for bumbling desecrators.

The most loyal of little dogs, or a Victorian era publicity stunt?