This gallery commissioned by Cardinal Spada is known for its magnificent optical illusion.

Rome’s legendary peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.

This curious, round temple is the oldest still-standing marble building in Rome.

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

What appears to be an ancient Roman temple is actually a Catholic church.

Fountain where visitors can earn a license to be mad.

The world's largest "Christmas tree" is illuminated by hundreds of lights stretching 2,000 feet up the slope of Mount Ingino.

The venerated body of a 12th century saint is celebrated each year with the 'Race of the Candles.'

Memorials at a Florence railway station remember the citizens who were deported from Italy and sent to extermination camps.

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

The pile of books behind the dignified writer gave the statue a most undignified nickname.

100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.

Those who own or stay at this 500-year-old, allegedly cursed house often meet terrible fates.

The only museum with its curator—and her pets—buried inside.

This deconsecrated church has seen many uses, from a tobacco storehouse to a cinema.

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

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.

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

Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.

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

According to tradition this is the oldest church in Venice, but its actual age is a mystery.