A slightly creepy gallery of plaster cast models in the same museum as Michelangelo's David.

A plaque on the base of this statue holds a bewitching design.

Overlooked amid the tourist bustle of Florence, this museum is dedicated to the craft of stone inlay.

A large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.

This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.

Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.

Over 50 exquisite hand-painted Renaissance maps decorate a Medici storage room.

A medieval weapon rumored to have been used by the brilliant poet himself.

The oldest operating pharmacy in the world features 800-year-old recipes.

A haunting medieval cloister that once served as the friars’ burial ground.

A historic cavernous cistern lies hidden behind a wall at San Marino’s stamp and coin museum.

The San Marino-Rimini railroad was short-lived but this tunnel once provided shelter for hundreds of refugees during World War II.

The smaller of the three towers of San Marino is a former prison inaccessible from the ground level.

This 2,000-year-old Doric bridge is still open to pedestrian traffic to this day.

In this museum, visitors are invited to touch the art.

Human-made caves excavated to hide a secret society of wealthy pagans.

Used as an example in one of the first dictionary entries for "museum" in 1706.

A less famous, short-lived meeting spot of the Inklings.

The fantastic charm of England's oldest botanical garden has made it a place of writerly inspiration for centuries.

The handiwork of a underdog clockmaker who solved an impossible problem for an Empire, and forever revolutionized seafaring.

Thanks to modern navigational tools we now know that the true prime meridian runs through a park next door.

The library houses an incredible collection of some of the world's most impressive books and manuscripts.

Legend says these colorful, invasive residents are the descendants of birds released by Jimi Hendrix.

A glorious pub known for a spiteful printing feud and its famous typeface lost—then found—at the bottom of the Thames.