Places Mister20 Wants to Go

A small island less than half a mile from Venice is a forbidden island with a dark and twisted past.

A new sculpture calls attention to climate change in the centuries-old city it threatens.

Tiny museum with unusual specimens.

This sturdy, circular stronghold served as one of the forts that protected the Venetian Lagoon.

The small peaceful island off the Venice tourist circuit is where the city began more than 1,500 years ago.

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.

The marble facade hides a little-known medical museum with early surgical instruments and rare copies of canonical texts.

Hanging within this medieval church are the bones of a beast allegedly slain by a fourth-century saint.

A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

As can be expected from a centuries-old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.

A large statue of Pope Gregory XIII in Bologna was disguised as Saint Petronius to avoid destruction.

A beloved local artist has been honored with this statue of a man emerging from a toilet.

The wreckage of a tragic plane crash is on display at this museum devoted to a famous Italian conspiracy.

Once known for its horse-powered knife sharpening, this 200-year-old shop offers an array of blades and hard-to-find culinary tools.

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

This zoological museum began as the first great curiosity cabinet.

In the world's oldest university is a stunning 17th century anatomical theater carved from spruce.

An extraordinary collection of 18th century anatomical waxworks.

Over 100 towers were built in Bologna during the Middle Ages, but only 22 survive.

Cretean quarry suggests real-life site for ancient Greek myth of the man-eating Minotaur in his labyrinth.

A minotaur, a labyrinth, and a dubious restoration pull in visitors from around the world.