MartyFire's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Kamakura, Japan

The Great Buddha of Kamakura

A bronze statue dating back as far as 1252, still has remnants of gold on its right cheek from ancient gilding.
San Gimignano, Italy

Towers of San Gimignano

These medieval skyscrapers dominate the skyline of this small Tuscan town.
San Gimignano, Italy

The Museum of Medieval Torture

Medieval torture techniques with a modern conscience.
Rimini, Italy

House of the Shells

One Italian taxi driver covered his entire house in small seashells creating a weird bit of architecture that is preserved to this day.
Ravenna, Italy

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

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

Mausoleum of Theoderic

The roof of this ancient mausoleum is made from a single Istrian stone weighing a massive 230 tons.
Ravenna, Italy

Basilica of San Vitale

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

Dante's Tomb

Italian poet Dante Alighieri is entombed in this small mausoleum in Ravenna, and his hometown of Florence has never been too happy about it.
Pisa, Italy

'Tuttomondo'

A local student's chance encounter with Keith Haring led to the creation of one of Europe's largest murals.
Palermo, Italy

Capuchin Monastery Catacombs

Thousands of well-dressed mummies below a monastery.
Lucca, Italy

Piazza dell'Anfiteatro

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

Roman Polanski's Neptune

Massive galleon from a box-office bomb docked in Genoa.
Bologna, Italy

Fountain of Neptune

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.
Verona, Italy

Juliet's Balcony

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.
Florence, Italy

Il Porcellino

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

Giant Hands of Venice’s Grand Canal

A new sculpture calls attention to climate change in the centuries-old city it threatens.
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.
Venice, Italy

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

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

The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria

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

The Mad Colored Houses of Burano

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.
Rome, Italy

Buca Dello Spione

An 18th-century post box used to alert the church of sick and ailing foreign pilgrims.
Rome, Italy

Campo de Fiori

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.
Rome, Italy

The Mouth of Truth

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.