More than 450 years ago, an Italian nun became the first woman to paint the iconic subject.

Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.

The world's oldest surviving anatomical theater, where "the dead are pleased to help the living."

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

One of the world's oldest working clocks is curiously missing the Zodiac sign of Libra.

The incorrupt tongue of the patron saint of lost things is venerated in this basilica.

A small window on Via Piella offers a lovely and rare peek at Bologna's lost canals.

Over 100 towers were built in Bologna during the Middle Ages, but only 22 survive.

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

Stuck in the arcade of Casa Isolani are three arrows of mysterious origins.

One of the oldest still-working clocks in the world sits on an ancient tower.

This centuries-old Italian chapel hangs midway down a sheer cliffside.

A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.

The middle finger of modernity.

This quaint Italian town keeps losing ground as the sides of its plateau slowly erode.

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.

The famous sculptor left his mark on this Italian wall in an internationally protected example of street art.

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

This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.

The giant skeleton sculpture is surprisingly well-traveled.

These gutted monastery ruins still stand proudly in the middle of the Italian countryside.

A factory director designed what was the world's longest suspension footbridge in 1923 so his employees could get to work safely.

In the world's oldest university is a stunning 17th century anatomical theater carved from spruce.

The bright red cars take travelers through breathtaking Tuscan scenery.