The "Mona Lisa" of funerary art.

Although called a funicular by both its owner and the locals this historic railroad is actually a rack and pinion system.

This peculiar Italian elevator runs both horizontally and vertically.

A hidden tunnel of bones in one of Malta's oldest churches.

A burial vault located under Tiber Island in the middle of the Italian capital.

This gallery commissioned by Cardinal Spada is known for its magnificent optical illusion.

A dismembered holy head stares out from her beautiful reliquary at the St. Dominic Basilica.

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.

Where Aleister Crowley taught magick in "La Chambre Des Cauchemars," his "Chamber of Nightmares."

A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

More sculpture than building, this architecturally significant temple was built on the spot of Saint Peter's crucifixion.

A Nesting Doll of Churches.

The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats.

Architectural monsters are devouring this palace's every door and window.

Rome's semi-secret peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.

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

Drink wine handed out through a window as part of an age-old tradition.

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

Haunting graffiti left by prisoners of the Spanish Inquisition.

Filled with goldfish swimming in a shallow pool of sea water, this ancient crypt is more wishing well than burial site.

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

A labyrinth of ancient tunnels hidden below the city holds the ruins of 2,500 years of history.

This beautiful park on the outskirts of Rome protects the ruins of two colossal ancient aqueducts.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.