Mathew Nelson's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Barcelona, Spain

'Dona i Ocell' ('Woman and Bird')

This colorful statue welcomes visitors to a Barcelona park.
Barcelona, Spain

Palau Güell

One of Antoni Gaudí’s earliest buildings, built between 1886 and 1890 for the industrialist Eusebi Güell.
Barcelona, Spain

Street Performers of Las Ramblas

The iconic boulevard is the perfect place to catch sight of a bicycling skeleton, a levitating Satan, or a chef with his head stuck in a pizza.
Barcelona, Spain

Mirador de Colom (Columbus Monument)

A vista of the city and sea from atop the little-known viewing deck on an unassuming Columbus statue.
Barcelona, Spain

Jardins de les 3 Xemeneies

An open-air "garden" of mural art that changes weekly.
Barcelona, Spain

Calder Mercury Fountain

A beautiful but toxic fountain of mercury.
Barcelona, Spain

Bunkers of Carmel

These secluded and abandoned anti-aircraft defenses have become one the most scenic viewpoints in Barcelona.
Lucca, Italy

Piazza dell'Anfiteatro

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

Torre Guinigi (Guinigi Tower)

Fortified medieval tower house with lovely roof garden.
Siena, Italy

St. Catherine of Siena's Severed Head

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

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena

First founded in 1472, this is the oldest bank in the world. Its history may explain why we call financial institutions "banks."
San Gimignano, Italy

Towers of San Gimignano

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

Tallest Wooden Pinocchio in the World

The towering Pinocchio stands 63 feet tall in the Italian village his creator frequented as a child.
Florence, Italy

Cimitero delle Porte Sante (Sacred Doors Cemetery)

The graveyard is filled with beautiful funerary art and boasts breathtaking views of Florence.
Pisa, Italy

The Camposanto

Next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a cemetery home to ancient sarcophagi and disturbing murals.
Pisa, Italy

Guy Rope Anchors for the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The only visible reminders of an elaborate engineering project that kept the tower from reaching the tipping point.
Pisa, Italy

Orto Botanico di Pisa (Botanical Garden of Pisa)

The first botanical garden, a feather in the cap of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Pisa, Italy

'Tuttomondo'

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

Michelangelo's Hidden Drawings

The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel, where they were hidden for nearly 500 years.
Florence, Italy

The Bull of Santa Maria del Fiore

This strange bovine gargoyle is said to have been put in as a passive aggressive form of revenge.
Florence, Italy

Il Porcellino

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

Galileo's Middle Finger

The middle finger of modernity.
San Francisco, California

Vaillancourt Fountain

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.
San Francisco, California

Exploratorium

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.