alyssaschrag's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Pompeii, Italy

Villa dei Misteri

This amazingly well-preserved villa just outside Pompeii boasts rare examples of ancient Roman paintings.
Sirmione, Italy

Scaligero Castle

One of the most well-preserved castles in Italy also contains a rare medieval example of a port fortification.
Venice, Italy

Palazzo Dario

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

Campanile di Curon

Bell tower juts out from a village buried under a lake.
Pompeii, Italy

The Brothels of Pompeii

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.
Pompeii, Italy

Thermopolia of Pompeii

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.
Isola San Giulio, Italy

Isola San Giulio

A fairytale island floats in the middle of Italy's little-known Lake Orta.
Venice, Italy

Scala Contarini del Bovolo

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

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

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

L.O.V.E.

This giant middle finger statue sends an unambiguous message to Italy's bankers.
Vernazza, Italy

Cinque Terre

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.
Milan, Italy

San Bernardino alle Ossa

An ossuary built in 1210 to collect bones from the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan.
Venice, Italy

The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.
Ercolano, Italy

Herculaneum

Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.
Venice, Italy

The Mad Colored Houses of Burano

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

Libreria Acqua Alta

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

'Saint Bartholomew Flayed'

This grisly effigy displays an early Christian martyr who was skinned alive and beheaded.
Turin, Italy

Egyptian Museum of Turin

One of the oldest and most significant collections of Ancient Egyptian archeology outside of Egypt.
Leggiuno, Italy

Santa Caterina del Sasso

This monastery built into a cliff hides a perfectly preserved hermit in a glass coffin.