These gutted monastery ruins still stand proudly in the middle of the Italian countryside.

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

South of Bologna, a limestone grotto with a protruding waterfall and a floor full of cave pearls.

An Italian geologic wonder that served as the inspiration for the landscape of Dante's hell.

Sitting on an Italian hilltop is this surreal fortress built by the mad inventor of electrohomeopathy.

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

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

The middle finger of modernity.

Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.

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 large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.

This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.

An incredible menagerie of more than 3 million taxidermied animals at the oldest science museum in Europe.

An extraordinary house museum and cabinet of curiosities in the heart of Florence.

Medieval torture techniques with a modern conscience.

Perched above a grotto, this tribute to Mother Nature looks out into the ocean.

This real life asylum of horrors is now an abandoned ruin that hides the unbreakable code to one patient's insanity.

A factory director designed what was the world's longest suspension footbridge in 1923 so his employees could get to work safely.

Explore the quarry where the marble was sourced for Michaelangelo's David.

This Tuscan lake hides a 13th century town that is still visible when the water recedes.

The bright red cars take travelers through breathtaking Tuscan scenery.

A massive natural rock arch gives the Tuscan mountain its own window to the sky.

A stunning bridge that appears as if it's lunging to the shore, and has a legend of a devilish architect.

An old mining site that is slowly being reclaimed by nature.