Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.

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.

Venice's island of the dead.

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

100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.

The pile of books behind the dignified writer gave the statue a most undignified nickname.

An ancient Roman temple first dedicated to an emperor's wife is now a church.

A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

A treasure trove of Renaissance-era funerary art in a Roman church built on top of Nero's grave.

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

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

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

This curious, round temple is the oldest still-standing marble building in Rome.

This is the oldest Roman-made bridge in the city still existing in its original state.

In Rome’s Jewish ghetto, a 200-year-old bakery still makes the neighborhood’s historic sweets.

This statue is the only female representation of Rome's "talking statues."

The spot where the fascist dictator made some of his most famous speeches including declaring war on Britain and France.

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered.

A 15th-century monumental Latin inscription on this house celebrates Lorenzo Manilio's love for Rome.

This small church was constructed over the ruins of three temples dating to the Roman Republic.

This ancient market is often referred to as the oldest shopping mall in the world.