Places onthenecessity1775 Wants to Go

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

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

The gloomy ruins that inspired Bram Stoker to bring Dracula to life.

This is not only one of the oldest collections in Europe, but also possibly the most beautiful.

This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.

A unique collection of Swiss art brut and naïve art displayed in an old warehouse.

Breathtaking and huge 430 year old maps of Italy.

Historic fortifications form the boundary of Vatican City, but it’s not entirely surrounded by walls.

If you want to talk to the Pope you will have to stare down this surreal vision of Jesus rising from a nuclear hell.

Hidden beneath the famous St. Peter's Basilica is a veritable city of the dead that may hold the remains of St. Peter himself.

This equestrian statue of Constantine the Great has been the subject of criticism for centuries.

The Vatican's secret porn-festooned bathroom was painted in erotic murals by one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance.

A wunderkammer of curious objects and intriguing art nestled within a hub of ancient Roman sites.

A fortified medieval basilica on the Caelian Hill preserves extraordinary frescoes and one of Rome's most beautiful hidden cloisters.

Believed to be the remains of the lost Temple of Minerva, this nymphaeum has been known by its misnomer to this day.

Plaques on its facade commemorate the Tiber's most destructive deluges.

This hydrochronometer was invented by a Dominican monk and is a prime feature in this garden.

A deep mark on the remains of a Roman temple, believed to be left by a legendary warrior.

This basilica is dedicated to two saints, one of which is known more for his famous quote.

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

A massive marble foot is tucked away in a small alley near the Pantheon.

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.

Romans decided this 16th-century "talking statue" was so ugly, they named it after a primate.

This statue is the only female representation of Rome's "talking statues."