jeannetheis's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Milan, Italy

Loggia dei Mercanti Whispering Gallery

The secret medieval communication system will whisk your words above the noise of the crowd.
Milan, Italy

L.O.V.E.

This giant middle finger statue sends an unambiguous message to Italy's bankers.
Milan, Italy

San Bernardino alle Ossa

An ossuary built in 1210 to collect bones from the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan.
Venice, Italy

Church of San Giacomo di Rialto

According to tradition this is the oldest church in Venice, but its actual age is a mystery.
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.
Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Lost Third Column

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.
Venice, Italy

Reliquaries of St Mark's Basilica Treasury

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.
Venice, Italy

Scuola Grande di San Marco

The marble facade hides a little-known medical museum with early surgical instruments and rare copies of canonical texts.
Venice, Italy

Piraeus Lion

Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.
Venice, Italy

Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists)

100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.
Venice, Italy

Libreria Acqua Alta

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.
Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio)

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

Scala Contarini del Bovolo

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.
Rome, Italy

Museo Storico Nazionale Dell' Arte Sanitaria

One of the most important yet well-hidden museums dedicated to the history of medicine.
Rome, Italy

Basilica di San Clemente

A Nesting Doll of Churches.
Rome, Italy

Saint Victoria's Incorruptible Body

The martyr's wax-enhanced skeletal remains lie preserved in a glass case in the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.
Rome, Italy

Papal Hearts at Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi

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

Casina delle Civette

A fairy tale castle in modern Rome.
Rome, Italy

Via Appia

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

The Dome Illusion

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

Galleria Sciarra

This hidden Art Nouveau courtyard is an opulent feast for the eyes.
Rome, Italy

Quartiere Coppedè

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.
Rome, Italy

Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts

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

The Herbivorous Butcher

A butcher shop in Minneapolis has all the meats and cheeses you’d expect from any of its kind—except that all the products are vegan.