mossenmoons's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Marmirolo, Italy

Bosco Fontana

Once the hunting reserve of a noble family, this is one of the few remnants of Pleistocene planitial forest in northern Italy that still stands.
Castelsardo, Italy

Roccia dell'Elefante (Elephant's Rock)

This weird, elephant-shaped rock also hosts two ancient tombs.
Paestum, Italy

Sacello Ipogeico

The only visible remains of this ancient Greek underground temple is its roof protruding from the earth.
Sutri, Italy

Sutri Amphitheatre

This Roman theater was crafted into the local tuff rock and was rediscovered during the 19th-century.
Viggianello, Italy

Sorgente del Mercure (Mercure Wellspring)

This crystal clear water basin feeds the Lao river and powers a hydroelectric power plant.
Manziana, Italy

Caldara di Manziana

This caldera was once associated with the Etruscan god of the underworld.
Candelo, Italy

Ricetto of Candelo

A perfectly preserved example of a fortified Medieval ricetto.
Camerata Nuova, Italy

Camerata Vecchia

The ruins of a medieval village that was abandoned after a 19th-century inferno.
Collio, Italy

Miniera Torgola

This decaying complex from the early 1900s was once the site of massive iron and fluorite mines.
Lallio, Italy

Church of San Bernardino

The walls of this tiny Italian church are entirely covered with frescoes.
Collepardo, Italy

Pozzo d'Antullo

An enormous sinkhole that local lore attributes to the anger of the Virgin Mary.
Rocchetta Alta, Italy

Rocchetta a Volturno

This medieval settlement was abandoned after a series of landslides. What remained was largely destroyed during a mock battle for a WWII film reel.
Sedilo, Italy

L'Ardia di San Costantino Festival

A wild annual race in Sardinia re-enacts Constantine's victory in Rome.
Segni, Italy

Porta Saracena

The hilltop town of Segni was once home to an ancient Roman colony and garrison.
Fiumefreddo Bruzio, Italy

Castello della Valle

The ruins of this medieval castle now stand as a monument against all wars.
Greccio, Italy

Santuario di Greccio (Sanctuary of Grecci)

One of the four sanctuaries of Rieti's Holy Valley was the site of the first living nativity scene.
Vasche, Italy

Lake of Cutilia

This lake was sacred to the Sabine people who constructed a temple here on a floating island.
Soriano nel Cimino, Italy

Corviano

This archaeological site built into a tuff outcrop is filled with rock dwellings, the ruins of a medieval castle, and a necropolis.
Catino, Italy

Lombard Tower

This seventh-century fortification marked the western border of the Lombard duchy of Spoleto.
Foresta, Italy

Ciampate del Diavolo (Devil's Footprints)

A trail of footprints discovered after a landslide was left not by the Devil, as originally believed, but by an early human ancestor.
Luras, Italy

Olivastri Millenari

At an estimated 3,800 years old, this olive tree is one of the oldest on earth.
Santa Caterina, Italy

Cristo Redentore (Christ the Redeemer)

The tallest statue in Italy is also one of the world's tallest statues of Jesus.
Castel Sant'Elia, Italy

Pontificio Santuario Maria SS "ad Rupes" (Pontifical Sanctuary of Maria SS. ad Rupes)

A monk spent 14 years carving steps through tuff to make this religious site more accessible to pilgrims.
Pescocostanzo, Italy

Bosco di Sant'Antonio

A fairy-tale-like forest that was sacred to Jupiter and Saint Anthony.