This bronze boar's snout has been rubbed to a golden sheen by visitors seeking good fortune.

The famous sculptor left his mark on this Italian wall in an internationally protected example of street art.

This medieval Italian town is a sheer (and beautiful) cliffside defense.

Eco-village hidden in the foothills of the Alps that created a massive system of psychedelic underground temples.

The plague quarantine island home to the alleged "Vampire of Venice."

A fairytale island floats in the middle of Italy's little-known Lake Orta.

This immaculate and historic water garden culminates in a massive stone dining table with an inset fountain for chilling the wine of the Cardinal's guests.

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.

Crushed coral and crystals give the sand its signature coloration.

The abandoned "Ghost Mansion" was left to decay in the mountains of Northern Italy.

Over 50 exquisite hand-painted Renaissance maps decorate a Medici storage room.

This domed temple was built in a hidden cave mouth as a refuge for sinners seeking absolution.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

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

An Italian hillside ghost town.

A fairy tale castle in modern Rome.

This quaint Italian town keeps losing ground as the sides of its plateau slowly erode.

The glowing blue Nymphaeum of Emperor Tiberius.

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats.

According to the local folklore, the myriad colors of this lake are the result of a lovelorn wizard's blunder.

The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel, where they were hidden for nearly 500 years.

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