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

"Stairs of the Turks", a chalky white cliff eroded conveniently into stairs, allowing for easy pillaging.

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

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

Geometry and mystery come together in an epic show of octagonal masonry.

The studio built by fascists in the hopes of "reviving the film industry" with the occasional propaganda film opportunity thrown in.

Southern Italy's spinning top village.

These medieval skyscrapers dominate the skyline of this small Tuscan town.

Italian cave with exceptional acoustics and an unsavory history.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

This giant middle finger statue sends an unambiguous message to Italy's bankers.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

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

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

Cave shrine on Monte Pellegrino.

This mosaic-lined medieval church was built by the world's first admiral and still holds mass in ancient Greek.

Thousands of well-dressed mummies below a monastery.

The largest 19th century panorama in the world still in-situ.

A seven-century-old jail tells a not-so-pleasant history of crime and punishment.

This Netherlands museum holds a gloriously mechanical collection of ornate musical automata.

Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.