Italy

Places in this region

The uphill-downhill road of Ariccia

Things seem to roll, flow and run uphill on this short patch of road near Ariccia, Italy

Just outside of Rome, one can find respite from the smog, and traffic of the big city among them fresh air, beautiful surroundings, wonderful food and a road that seems to run in reverse.... »

Optical Oddities, Mystery Spots and Gravity Hills | Edited by Wanderful and Dylan

Pyramid of Cestius

The only "Egyptian" pyramid in Europe and the legendary tomb of Remus

Egyptomania gripped Rome in the wake of the conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. Both massive original artifacts and inspired copies cropped up all over the city, but only two actual pyramids were known to... »

Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by Annetta and adam

Cesare Lombroso's Museum of Criminal Anthropology

Once only open to academics, "Lombroso's Museum" has opened its doors to the public revealing the astonishing collection of an infamous criminologist

As the criminologist Cesare Lombroso examined the skull of the autopsied the body of Giuseppe Villela, the notorious Italian criminal he had just dissected, he discovered a cranial anomaly known... »

Museums and Collections, Wonder Cabinets, Strange Science, Medical Museums, Unique Collections, Memento Mori, Hoaxes and Pseudoscience | Edited by Dylan

Il Gigante

The bomb-ravaged remains of of a colossal Neptune

Allied bombs and rough seas have reduced the once mighty turn of the century giant into an armless ruin. Located at the end of a popular sunbathing beach in the Italian riviera town of Monterosso... »

Strange Statues, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Annetta

Ninfeo di Villa Litta

An ancient artistic garden parlor full of hidden water wonders

Built in 1589 to hold the art and fossils collection of the Borromeo Visconti Litta, the Ninfeo ("nymphs' cave") is an architectural oddity standing in the middle of a small park, separated from... »

Follies and Grottoes | Edited by

Burcardo Theater Museum

Harlequin costumes, signed sripts, and armor-wearing puppets

Five centuries of theater ephemera are artfully displayed in the Palazetto del Burcardo in Rome. The building itself sits on the foundation of the Pompey's Roman theater, and the Teatro Argentina... »

Unique Collections, Wondrous Performances, Incredible Ruins | Edited by M Rebekah Otto

The Protestants' graveyard

The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats

The Protestants' graveyard, also known as the "non-Catholic cemetery" of Rome, is hidden behind the pyramid of Caius Cestius, in the Roman rione (district) of Testaccio. Because Rome has always... »

Strange Statues, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by Spacedlaw and wythe

The Museum of Roman Ships at Fiumicino

Roman-era ships unearthed...

An accidental discovery delivered this unique collection. In the early 50s when the Italian government began excavating for a new airport, they stumbled upon an ancient port built by Emperor... »

Incredible Ruins | Edited by M Rebekah Otto

The Criminology Museum

Ever hear of the Milazzo Cage?

Operated by Italy's federal Prison Administration, this unique collection of prisons, torture, and criminal anthropology was open only to government officials from its founding in 1931 until 1994.... »

Unique Collections, Crime and Punishment | Edited by M Rebekah Otto

Veii

Rome's ancient Etruscan rival, now a park full of ruins

Only 17 km northwest of the Eternal City stand the ruins of the rival that almost snuffed out early Roman civilization, long before Caesar or Augustus were born. The great Etruscan city-state of... »

Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Cultures and Civilizations , Incredible Ruins | Edited by wythe

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