Monuments don't get much more metal than these three giant viking swords planted in a Nordic hill.

One of the most breathtaking railways in Europe also takes one of the steepest climbs, from fjord to mountain plateau.

The burning of this 12th-century church kicked off a campaign of Norwegian Black Metal terror.

One man's exploration of the human form, including the bizarre and delightful "Man Attacked by Babies."

A chain of 16 wondrous lakes formed as a result of the gradual dissolution of soluble layers of bedrock.

This grisly effigy displays an early Christian martyr who was skinned alive and beheaded.

Da Vinci's equestrian statue, 500 years in the making.

This giant middle finger statue sends an unambiguous message to Italy's bankers.

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

Roman politician Herodes Atticus built this nymphaeum to honor his wife, whom he may have murdered.

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

This one-of-a-kind Roman arch is not actually dedicated to the god Janus.

This small, ancient Roman temple was once a church dedicated to the patron saint of penitents.

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

Inside this McDonald's you can dine on your Big Mac and fries next to a 2,500-year-old Roman wall.

Jesus' footprints and the first catacombs in the world.

The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats.

2300-year-old Roman road connecting the empire.

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered.

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."

A collection of collections, including an anatomy museum, the “Cabinet of Physics of Alessandro Volta, a museum of natural history, mineral collection, and much much more...

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

An ode to the washerwomen who called Pavia home.