karisbeeson's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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San Severino, Italy

San Severino di Centola

This medieval hilltop village was abandoned at the end of the 19th century, after existing for more than 500 years.
Monopoli, Italy

Chiesa di Santa Maria del Suffragio detta del Purgatorio

Macabre symbols of death and mummies on display set the tone of this Italian purgatory church.
Pizzo, Italy

Chiesetta di Piedigrotta (Church of Piedigrotta)

This church carved into the rocks is full of enchanting stone statues.
Corrubbio, Italy

Byblos Art Hotel

Sleep amongst an abundance of art from the modern era.
Stromboli, Italy

Strombolicchio Lighthouse

A petite white lighthouse perched on the ancient core of Stromboli Volcano.
Florence, Italy

La Berta

Legend says this mysterious stone head belongs to a woman who was petrified by an alchemist.
Atessa, Italy

The Dragon Rib of Atessa

A preserved dragon's rib that remembers the legend of the founding of the city of Atessa.
Naples, Italy

Anatomy Museum of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli

An eerie, little-known Neapolitan museum filled with preserved human remains.
Muraglione, Italy

Pertosa Caves

Ride a boat through this magnificent underground world, which now doubles as a theater.
Palermo, Italy

Palazzo Chiaramonte

Haunting graffiti left by prisoners of the Spanish Inquisition.
Venice, Italy

Peggy Guggenheim's Grave

The only museum with its curator—and her pets—buried inside.
Palestrina, Italy

Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia

The city of Palestrina was built around this magnificent terraced sanctuary dedicated to the pagan goddess Fortuna.
Rome, Italy

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

One of Catholicism's four major basilicas has a series of papal portraits that are said to predict the end of the world.
Pietrapertosa, Italy

Volo dell'Angelo

The steel cable lets adventurers zoom between two mountain towns at speeds of up to 75 miles per hour.
Lucca, Italy

The Incorruptible St. Zita

The naturally mummified body of a peasant girl saint.
Naples, Italy

Catacombs of Saint Gaudiosus

The burial place of an obscure North African saint was turned into a macabre body preservation factory for the 17th-century Neapolitan elite.
Palermo, Italy

Santuario di Santa Rosalia

Cave shrine on Monte Pellegrino.
Palermo, Italy

San Giovanni degli Eremiti

Behind medieval walls in a corner of bustling Palermo is a breathtaking former mosque once inhabited by a wolf-taming hermit.
Praia A Mare, Italy

Dino Island

The abandoned ruins of a failed resort hide on this verdant, picture-perfect island.
Padua, Italy

Scrovegni Chapel

Built to repay the sins of the father, this church is home to one of the most valuable works of Western art.
Pavia, Italy

The Museums of the University of Pavia

A collection of collections, including an anatomy museum, the “Cabinet of Physics of Alessandro Volta, a museum of natural history, mineral collection, and much much more...
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.
Soriano nel Cimino, Italy

Etruscan Pyramid of Bomarzo

This ancient altar emerges from the thick forests to reveal the mysteries of Etruscan sacrificial rituals.
Rome, Italy

The Sweating Cenotaph at the Archbasilica San Giovanni in Laterano

Stone memorial that's said to predict the death of the pope and the site of the Cadaver Synod.