Places Deirdreod Wants to Go

The martyr's wax-enhanced skeletal remains lie preserved in a glass case in the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

The not-quite-incorruptible St. Bernadette is perhaps the most beautiful of preserved saints—with a little help from Paris.

These blingy, baubled skeletons lie in glass boxes inside a baroque Bavarian church.

These jeweled relics have a scandalous and contested past.

This magnificent museum claims to house the cranium of a disciple and the skull of a pope.

It took more than 300 years to build this church, which is home to two sacred vessels believed to hold the blood of Christ.

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.

The venerated body of a 12th century saint is celebrated each year with the 'Race of the Candles.'

The huge golden reliquary of a testicle-smashing saint.

Statue of a decomposing prince that once held his heart in its hand.

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

The remains of the left arm of the levitating philosopher-saint are kept in a 13th-century Neapolitan basilica.

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.

What better way to honor a pioneering anatomist than by preserving his severed head like a specimen?

This roadside shrine to an unofficial saint has welcomed the wishes and prayers of local believers for generations.

The remains of "the Pearl of Scotland" can be found inside this church.

Wander around the extensive remains of this 12th-century medieval church.

The patron saint of spinsters grasps a container of dried blood.

This neon sign is an homage to an Alfred Hitchcock film.

This contemplative sculpture made out of old machine parts is meant to be the first in a series of sculptures around the world.

This severely painted building has a twisted connection to the witch hunts of the 1640s.

This church is named for one of the most dramatic tales in the early Christian church.

This magical space partly designed by Antoni Gaudi is one of the best examples of romantic gardening in the Mediterranean.

The burial place of an obscure North African saint was turned into a macabre body preservation factory for the 17th-century Neapolitan elite.