The first botanical garden, a feather in the cap of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

A spiritual sanctuary in a natural cave.

The oldest botanical garden in the world that technically isn't the oldest.

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

A medieval weapon rumored to have been used by the brilliant poet himself.

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.

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

Cave shrine on Monte Pellegrino.

The mountaintop inspiration for Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose."

This mosaic-lined medieval church was built by the world's first admiral and still holds mass in ancient Greek.

The forbidden island of the Tuscan Archipelago may still contain buried treasure.

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

142 ceramic steps become a mosaic once a year.

A unique Tuscan hideaway acts as an art mecca as well as a hotel.

Largest necropolis in the Mediterranean.

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

The secret medieval communication system will whisk your words above the noise of the crowd.

A star-shaped fortress town fort built in the geometric model of the Renaissance utopian city.

Fortified medieval tower house with lovely roof garden.

A madman's personal garden filled with 1,000 sculpted heads.

This strange bovine gargoyle is said to have been put in as a passive aggressive form of revenge.

A collection of collections, including an anatomy museum, the “Cabinet of Physics of Alessandro Volta, a museum of natural history, mineral collection, and much much more...

A cave in southern Italy adorned with thousand-year-old Biblical frescoes existed in obscurity until fairly recently.

Italian poet Dante Alighieri is entombed in this small mausoleum in Ravenna, and his hometown of Florence has never been too happy about it.