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Rome, Italy

The Wax-Encased Remains of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.
Venice, Italy

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.
Siena, Italy

St. Catherine of Siena's Severed Head

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

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

An incredible mosaic-lined monument said to have held the remains of an ancient Roman empress.
Ravenna, Italy

Basilica of San Vitale

This 6th-century church has the largest and best-preserved collection of Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople.
Cerveteri, Italy

Necropolis of the Banditaccia

Largest necropolis in the Mediterranean.
Rome, Italy

Veii

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

Etruscan Necropolises of Tarquinia and Cerveteri

Wandering this ancient burial place offers a glimpse of the afterlife in the fresco-adorned tombs of an ancient Etruscan civilization.
Pompeii, Italy

Villa dei Misteri

This amazingly well-preserved villa just outside Pompeii boasts rare examples of ancient Roman paintings.
Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii Thermopolium

Before it was buried by volcanic ash, this fast-food restaurant fed the hungry hordes of ancient Rome.
Pompeii, Italy

The Brothels of Pompeii

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.
Pompeii, Italy

Thermopolia of Pompeii

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.
Pompeii, Italy

Plaster Citizens of Pompeii

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.
Lucca, Italy

Piazza dell'Anfiteatro

This bustling Italian plaza is built on the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater.
Lucca, Italy

The Incorruptible St. Zita

The naturally mummified body of a peasant girl saint.
Florence, Italy

Gipsoteca Bartolini

A slightly creepy gallery of plaster cast models in the same museum as Michelangelo's David.
Florence, Italy

Bronze Replica of Michelangelo’s David

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.
Florence, Italy

Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents)

Renaissance hospital featuring a rotating door into which unwanted babies were dropped.
Florence, Italy

Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy

The oldest operating pharmacy in the world features 800-year-old recipes.
Ercolano, Italy

Herculaneum

Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.
San Gimignano, Italy

The Museum of Medieval Torture

Medieval torture techniques with a modern conscience.
Rome, Italy

Santa Maria sopra Minerva Flood Markers

Plaques on its facade commemorate the Tiber's most destructive deluges.
Munich, Germany

Rathaus-Glockenspiel

Daily jousts and dancing barrel makers in Munich's mechanical clock.
Dachau, Germany

Dachau Concentration Camp

The prototype for all Nazi concentration camps.