A Bronze age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini might have been the inspiration for Plato's Atlantis.

Giant marble phalluses on the sacred island of antiquity.

Replicas of Apollo's leonine stone guard cats still line a sacred row in Greece.

150 or so scrounged-up lamps, chandeliers, and lanterns light up this alley in central Athens.

The Cycladic architecture makes this Athens neighborhood feel like an island paradise hidden in the shadow of the Acropolis.

Where commuters walk through remnants of an ancient Greek necropolis.

The oldest cemetery of modern-day Athens blends the modern and ancient worlds.

An ancient octagonal weather station named for the eight Greek gods of wind.

The railway carts travelers to central Athens's highest peak, which offers stunning vistas of the city.

This ancient Greek place of assembly and marketplace is being revealed layer by layer below the modern Athens cityscape.

An ancient knight and a symbol of the city's freedom.

When a supermarket opened up shop within a medieval building it became protected by UNESCO on a technicality.

Gargoyle head that brings good luck.

The complex has been abandoned since the Croatian War of Independence, barring a stint as a set for 'Game of Thrones.'

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

A mysterious ancient elephant said to possess magic powers is now the symbol of a Sicilian city.

Just across from the "Last Supper" painting is the famous painter's vineyard, a gift received for creating the masterpiece.

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

A detailed pachyderm supports Rome's smallest Egyptian obelisk.

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

A copy of the famous statue can be found in this Florence piazza, along with one of the most breathtaking views of the city below.

Every inch of this chapel is covered in craftsmanship from across the world.

Behind medieval walls in a corner of bustling Palermo is a breathtaking former mosque once inhabited by a wolf-taming hermit.

Da Vinci's equestrian statue, 500 years in the making.