Charles Dickens was not a fan of the ghastly wall dressings in this 6th century church.

A modern sliver of architecture in Roma.

St. Francesca Romana, patron saint of drivers, resides in the church she founded.

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

Largest necropolis in the Mediterranean.

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

The "Greatest Sewer" of ancient Rome is one of the oldest sewer systems in the world, and is still in use.

Gods clash with machines in a power plant regenerated as a museum.

The Emperor Tiberius' palace of debauchery.

This zoological museum began as the first great curiosity cabinet.

The studio built by fascists in the hopes of "reviving the film industry" with the occasional propaganda film opportunity thrown in.

This hill made entirely of ancient Roman jars was simply a garbage dump to the people of the time.

If you want to talk to the Pope you will have to stare down this surreal vision of Jesus rising from a nuclear hell.

This delightful little museum is dedicated to only one thing: pasta.

Rome's ancient Etruscan rival, now a park full of ruins.

More sculpture than building, this architecturally significant temple was built on the spot of Saint Peter's crucifixion.

A sulfuric hellscape in southern Italy.

One of seven Jewish catacombs in Rome and one of only two open to the public.

A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

Museum dedicated to literary greats of the Romantic Period is also the home in which Keats met his untimely end.

Gigantic mosaic sculptures of the figures on Tarot cards fill this colorful Tuscan garden.

This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.