AmandaPiccirillo1121's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Rome, Italy

Domus Aurea

The engineering wonder and pleasure dome of a much-maligned emperor still holds undiscovered secrets.
Rome, Italy

Via Appia

2300-year-old Roman road connecting the empire.
Rome, Italy

The Mouth of Truth

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.
Los Angeles, California

LAX Theme Building

This quirky UFO-shaped curiosity is often mistaken for the airport’s control tower.
Los Angeles, California

Millennium Biltmore Hotel

This opulent hotel has been visited by Spider-Man, Charlie's Angels, and the Ghostbusters.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Bank

The bank that helped fund the Mexican-American War and the purchase of Alaska met its downfall after helping Augusto Pinochet launder money.
Washington, D.C.

Rayburn House Office Building

One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."
Washington, D.C.

Washington Monument Marble Stripe

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.
Washington, D.C.

Georgetown Waterfront

The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.
Washington, D.C.

Gun Barrel Fence

This robust fence in front of a historic Georgetown home is likely made from hundreds of recycled Revolutionary War firearms.
Washington, D.C.

Georgetown's Haunted Halcyon House

This stately mansion, built in 1787 by America's first Secretary of the Navy, is rumored to be one of the most haunted buildings in Washington, DC.
Washington, D.C.

Willard Hotel

Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”
Washington, D.C.

Bare-Chested George Washington

Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.
Washington, D.C.

Old Stone House

The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.
Washington, D.C.

Carnegie Library of Washington, D.C.

D.C.'s first central library was born out of a chance encounter with the philanthropist whose name it bears.
Washington, D.C.

Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.
Washington, D.C.

The Mary Surratt Boarding House

The house where John Wilkes Booth conspired with his co-conspirators.
Washington, D.C.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Largest Roman Catholic church in North America.
Washington, D.C.

Dumbarton Oaks

The Byzantine, pre-Columbian, and medieval art at this stately mansion are some of the most under-appreciated collections in D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Library

A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.
Washington, D.C.

The Exorcist Stairs

The site of the climactic scene from the classic horror film is now a historic landmark.
Washington, D.C.

International Spy Museum

Home to items never before seen by the public.
Paris, France

Execution Site of Jacques de Molay

The approximate spot where the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar was put to death.
Paris, France

Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice

This 18th-century sundial was designed to calculate the date of Easter each year.