This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

St. Francesca Romana, patron saint of drivers, resides in the church she founded.

This subterranean shrine beneath a bike rental store celebrates the iconic Italian scooter.

A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

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

This ancient market is often referred to as the oldest shopping mall in the world.

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

The spot where the fascist dictator made some of his most famous speeches including declaring war on Britain and France.

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

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

A detailed pachyderm supports Rome's smallest Egyptian obelisk.

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

An 18th-century post box used to alert the church of sick and ailing foreign pilgrims.

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

This hidden Art Nouveau courtyard is an opulent feast for the eyes.

A forgotten "city of water" underneath the famous Trevi district.

A statue representing a lost Roman profession that was vandalized for centuries.

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.

This former Roman Catholic Church still contains the embalmed hearts and organs of 22 popes.

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.

The remains of this 2nd-century Roman temple are incorporated into a modern building.

The charred, dead skeleton of an oak tree is said to have consoled a dying 16th-century Italian poet.

The Italian revolutionary's legendary wife is portrayed on horseback waving a gun and holding her child in this memorial on the Janiculum.

Among the busts of heroes of the Roman Republic of 1849, there is also a statue of a boy and his dog.