Places lovexdumpling Wants to Go

This 18th-century dissection theater's frescoes display a gorgeous tension between the terrestrial and esoteric.

A 17th-century doorway in a small Sabine village is a portal into the mysteries of alchemy.

This small but lovely sinkhole lake is the last remnant of a great prehistoric water basin.

An ancient rogue artist community hidden next to one of the world's most glitzy and glamorous cities.

The "Mona Lisa" of funerary art.

A 2,000-year-old engineering wonder hides beneath an Italian town.

Legend has it that this bronze orb, which sat atop an ancient Egyptian obelisk, once held the ashes of Julius Caesar.

This Italian pyramid is said to hold the mingled remains of the dead from both sides of the Battle of Novara.

Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.

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

The intricate geometry inside this Baroque-style dome was designed to create "terror of the human soul."

Known as the Royal Palace of the Euganean Hills, this often overlooked castle has been home for multiple noble families over the centuries.

A stunning medieval castle houses this eclectic, interactive tribute to all things wine.

The Bourbon royal family had this unique octagonal hunting "cottage" built on a tiny islet in Lake Fusaro.

A medieval Italian village is fighting depopulation with this vibrant annual street art festival.

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

An unsettling painting of three faceless sisters that is surrounded by history and legend.

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

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient Roman religious cult contains an exquisite traditional fresco.

Abandoned cemetery of the former Psychiatric Hospital of Volterra.

An abandoned bell tower in the middle of nowhere is the last testimony of a forgotten medieval village.

A stunning hermit's shrine on a steep rocky spur in Northern Italy.

An ancient Roman temple first dedicated to an emperor's wife is now a church.

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