A mysterious ancient elephant said to possess magic powers is now the symbol of a Sicilian city.

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.

This amazingly preserved Doric temple was abandoned before it was ever completed.

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

A medieval wash house where people washed clothes in a river allegedly formed by the tears of a mourning nymph.

Centuries ago, red and white wine poured from the statue's breasts whenever a new Venetian ruler was elected.

This bustling Italian plaza is built on the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater.

The only visible reminders of an elaborate engineering project that kept the tower from reaching the tipping point.

A military museum, art park, mausoleum, and architectural oddity all on one fascist's estate.

The 1,000-year-old abbey is the birthplace of modern musical notation.

Behind medieval walls in a corner of bustling Palermo is a breathtaking former mosque once inhabited by a wolf-taming hermit.

This Arabesque Italian castle was built with a primitive, if ingenious, air-conditioning system.

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

In a city that boasts four separate inclined cable railways, this is one of the busiest funicular lines in the world.

What looks like a link in Gondor's early warning system is actually a centuries-old Italian fortress.

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

A cave in southern Italy adorned with thousand-year-old Biblical frescoes existed in obscurity until fairly recently.

Fortified medieval tower house with lovely roof garden.

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

A sulfuric hellscape in southern Italy.

A lover's walk between hilltop towns, decorated with graffiti love notes.

Europe’s oldest natural human mummy.

The bomb-ravaged remains of of a colossal Neptune.

This bronze boar's snout has been rubbed to a golden sheen by visitors seeking good fortune.