Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Sacra di San Michele

Discover Sacra di San Michele in Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, Italy: The mountaintop inspiration for Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose.".

Villa Romana e Antiquarium

Discover Villa Romana e Antiquarium in Minori, Italy: A beautifully well-preserved ancient Roman villa.

St. Anthony’s Tongue

Discover St. Anthony's Tongue in Padua, Italy: The incorrupt tongue of the patron saint of lost things is venerated in this basilica.

Stadio dei Marmi

Discover Stadio dei Marmi in Rome, Italy: This Italian stadium makes liberal use of fascist statuary to evoke classical sporting arenas.

Villa Jovis

Discover Villa Jovis in Capri, Italy: The Emperor Tiberius' palace of debauchery.

Nebida Laveria

Discover Nebida Laveria in Iglesias, Italy: On the coast of Sardinia, a once-great mining village is finding new life as a coastal resort town.

The Incorruptible St. Zita

Discover The Incorruptible St. Zita in Lucca, Italy: The naturally mummified body of a peasant girl saint.

Residenza d’Arte

Discover Residenza d'Arte in Torrita di Siena, Italy: A unique Tuscan hideaway acts as an art mecca as well as a hotel.

Scrovegni Chapel

Discover Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy: Built to repay the sins of the father, this church is home to one of the most valuable works of Western art.

Bologna Zoological Museum

Discover Bologna Zoological Museum in Bologna, Italy: This zoological museum began as the first great curiosity cabinet.

Monte Busca Volcano

Discover Monte Busca Volcano in Villaggio Monte Busca, Italy: This natural gas vent certainly earns its name as the smallest volcano in Italy.

Cappella Palatina

Discover Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Italy: Every inch of this chapel is covered in craftsmanship from across the world.

Sacrario Militare del Monte Grappa

Discover Sacrario Militare del Monte Grappa in Crespano del Grappa, Italy: This military mausoleum captures the solemn grandeur that most memorials only aspire to.

Italy’s Free Wine Fountain

Discover Cammino di San Tommaso Fountain of Wine in Villa Caldari, Italy: An Italian vineyard invites religious pilgrims to stop by 24/7 to get their drink on, for free.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 474 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 499 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 633 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 135 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 167 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 96 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 166

PP ToS