Rolling sand dunes of the Sahara... in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

A new sculpture calls attention to climate change in the centuries-old city it threatens.

This deconsecrated church has seen many uses, from a tobacco storehouse to a cinema.

The pile of books behind the dignified writer gave the statue a most undignified nickname.

Stare out over the lagoon and beyond from this 10th-century campanile on the island where the city of Venice began.

Where Venice's gondolas go for a tune-up.

Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.

Hanging within this medieval church are the bones of a beast allegedly slain by a fourth-century saint.

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.

Those who own or stay at this 500-year-old, allegedly cursed house often meet terrible fates.

100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

A small island less than half a mile from Venice is a forbidden island with a dark and twisted past.

A statue representing a lost Roman profession that was vandalized for centuries.

An 18th-century post box used to alert the church of sick and ailing foreign pilgrims.

This park on the outskirts of Rome boasts two ancient Roman aqueducts and a medieval tower.

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

Ancient ruins hidden underneath a modern luxury hotel.

One of the most important yet well-hidden museums dedicated to the history of medicine.

The best preserved Paleochristian basilica in Rome hides a number of oddities and secrets.

A huge enchanting public park just outside the ancient walls of Rome.