Places Ian Engweiler Wants to Go

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

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.

This triumphal 16th-century arched gateway leads to the oldest street in Palermo.

Next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a cemetery home to ancient sarcophagi and disturbing murals.

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

An abandoned 17th-century baroque hunting lodge with a wonderfully strange architectural plan.

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

According to local folklore, this Roman sepulcher was once a throne for the Devil.

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

The incorrupt tongue of the patron saint of lost things is venerated in this basilica.

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

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

This cathedral hides a sculpted dog that determines your fate and an unexploded shell from World War II.

This Italian stadium makes liberal use of fascist statuary to evoke classical sporting arenas.

A medieval fountain lined with 99 unique stone faces whose origins and meaning remain unknown.

A unique form of erosion created an uncanny landscape of boulders perched atop slender columns of clay.

This natural gas vent certainly earns its name as the smallest volcano in Italy.

This military mausoleum captures the solemn grandeur that most memorials only aspire to.

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

Known for centuries as the famous Roman emperor's burial place, this monument is actually something else.

Some say this medieval church is where the poet Dante married his wife and also met the love of his life.

The relics of dozens of martyrs are stored in a single chapel.

This overgrown mountain village has been abandoned for nearly a century.

The remains of an ancient Roman city are hidden underneath Bologna's beautiful public library.