Places sndikic Wants to Go

An 18th century fountain and two columns are all that remains of Rome's forgotten river harbor.

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

This old medieval prison tower has been a site of astronomical research for more than 250 years.

In medieval times this small stone seat was used as a bizarre way to punish insolvent debtors.

The old church, buried by the 1784 Mount Vesuvius eruption, is a remarkably well-preserved place where people now pray for the souls of the dead.

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

Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.

Its interior is adorned with some of the best examples of early Christian mosaics.

A medieval wash house where people washed clothes in a river allegedly formed by the tears of a mourning nymph.

This triumphal 16th-century arched gateway leads to the oldest street in Palermo.

Skulls and skeletons are omnipresent in this church dedicated to souls trapped in purgatory.

This cathedral hides a sculpted dog that determines your fate and an unexploded shell from World War II.

It’s said this crypt was the setting for the tragic finale of the Shakespeare play.

An abandoned quarry hides an open-air gallery of huge sculptures, some made from the rubble of 9/11.

The oldest volcanology research center in the world.

The bright red cars take travelers through breathtaking Tuscan scenery.

A detailed pachyderm supports Rome's smallest Egyptian obelisk.

This amazingly well-preserved villa just outside Pompeii boasts rare examples of ancient Roman paintings.

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

A cave in southern Italy adorned with thousand-year-old Biblical frescoes existed in obscurity until fairly recently.

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

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

A stunning bridge that appears as if it's lunging to the shore, and has a legend of a devilish architect.

A fake medieval village in the middle of Turin.