Places CalWhimsey Wants to Go

The enigmatic sculpture hides above an escalator in a Milan metro station.

A small island in Lake Garda that was used as a burial site, pirate hideout, and a monastery.

A brutalist gem towering over the heart of Milan.

Artistic tombs, monuments, and a beautiful "Hall of Fame" lurk inside this cemetery.

The oldest scientifically dated tree in Europe lives on a remote cliff.

Templar knights fleeing persecution are said to have left this sword in stone as a landmark in 1307.

The only substantial part of Nazi Germany's formidable defensive line through Northern Italy that survives today, largely intact.

A medieval, mosaic-lined baptistry built by a heretical Christian sect.

Legend said this huge, gnarled tree sheltered the saint during a storm.

An archaeological treasure trove towers over the valley of Chiavenna.

Remnants of cone-shaped fascist bomb shelters in Milan.

A stunning hermit's shrine on a steep rocky spur in Northern Italy.

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

An extraordinary house museum and cabinet of curiosities in the heart of Florence.

Romans decided this 16th-century "talking statue" was so ugly, they named it after a primate.

Get buzzed beholding one of the world's largest coffee-machine collections, then step into the café for a specially brewed cup.

A whale rib was used to advertise the store by the arch that offered exotic goods from far away.

Just across from the "Last Supper" painting is the famous painter's vineyard, a gift received for creating the masterpiece.

The world's first underwater farm is home to more than 700 plants.

A climbing route in the mountains of Italy’s Dolomites, built for soldiers during World War I.

Mysterious tombstones thought to be remnants of Atlantis.

One of the highest mountain passes in Europe has been ranked among the best driving roads in the world.

The mountaintop inspiration for Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose."

An exclusive waiting room built for the royal family in the 1920s is hidden in Milan’s central station.