One of the most well-preserved castles in Italy also contains a rare medieval example of a port fortification.

Venice's "Island of the Mad."

This historic floating crane became an unlikely symbol of the port of Trieste.

The naturally mummified body of a peasant girl saint.

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

First founded in 1472, this is the oldest bank in the world. Its history may explain why we call financial institutions "banks."

A dismembered holy head stares out from her beautiful reliquary at the St. Dominic Basilica.

An image of two murdered magistrates became iconic and is reproduced in metal as a memorial on the Civitavecchia sea front.

The famous sculptor had a hand in this imposing fortress.

The walls and streets of the ancient city are peppered with penises.

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.

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

Legend has it that any woman who kissed this statue would soon be married.

The roof of this ancient mausoleum is made from a single Istrian stone weighing a massive 230 tons.

A medieval, mosaic-lined baptistry built by a heretical Christian sect.

Psychoanalyst Carl Jung reported a paranormal experience after visiting this mosaic-lined Roman baptistry.

An incredible mosaic-lined monument said to have held the remains of an ancient Roman empress.

This 6th-century church has the largest and best-preserved collection of Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople.

Italian poet Dante Alighieri is entombed in this small mausoleum in Ravenna, and his hometown of Florence has never been too happy about it.

Fortified medieval tower house with lovely roof garden.

A twisted steel beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center is the centerpiece of this memorial for those who died on September 11, 2001.

One of the largest squares in Europe contains an entire artificial island.

Something's missing between the arcades of the Palazzo della Ragione in "the city of the three withouts."

The people of Padua pledged to construct this church if the city was spared from destruction during World War I.