crburgess's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Venice, Italy

Squero di San Trovaso

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

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.
Florence, Italy

Fresco of John Hawkwood

In Florence's great Duomo, a 26 foot fresco honors a mercenary famous for attacking Florence.
Rome, Italy

Sculpture of Giovanni Paolo II

A sculpture serving as an homage to Pope John Paul II.
Rome, Italy

Cloaca Maxima

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

Nemi Ships

Caligula's colossal pleasure ships, discovered by Mussolini only to be lost in flames.
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.
Rome, Italy

The Museum of Roman Ships at Fiumicino

Roman-era ships unearthed...
Rome, Italy

The Martyr Murals at Santo Stefano Rotondo

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

Monte Testaccio

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

Il Porcellino

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

Arch of Gallienus

This Roman arch marks the location of an ancient gate at one of the Seven Hills of Rome.
Florence, Italy

Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents)

Renaissance hospital featuring a rotating door into which unwanted babies were dropped.
Pozzuoli, Italy

Phlegraean Fields

A sulfuric hellscape in southern Italy.
Florence, Italy

Vasari Corridor

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

Meridian Line of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs

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

Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists)

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

Keats-Shelley Memorial House

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

Thermopolia of Pompeii

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.
Rome, Italy

Basilica di San Clemente

A Nesting Doll of Churches.
Venice, Italy

Isola di San Michele

Venice's island of the dead.
Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio)

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

Juliet's Balcony

Pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers.
Rome, Italy

The Protestant Cemetery

The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats.