Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Fungo Mushroom Rock

Discover The Fungo Mushroom Rock in Lacco Ameno, Italy: A mushroom-shaped outcropping that has come to be the symbol for an entire town.

Wooden Books of Padova University

Discover Wooden Books of Padova University in San Vito di Cadore, Italy: While most books are made of wood, these wooden books are truly made of, and all about wood.

Antonio Scarpa’s Head

Discover Antonio Scarpa's Head in Pavia, Italy: What better way to honor a pioneering anatomist than by preserving his severed head like a specimen?

Santa Maria delle Grazie

Discover Santa Maria delle Grazie in Cocullo, Italy: Host to the annual Festival of the Snakes.

Nemi Ships

Discover Nemi Ships in Nemi, Italy: Caligula's colossal pleasure ships, discovered by Mussolini only to be lost in flames.

Pietro Micca Museum

Discover Pietro Micca Museum in Turin, Italy: This Torino museum honors a soldier who kept the city safe using barrels of exploding gunpowder, losing his life in the process.

Roman Polanski’s Neptune

Discover Roman Polanski's Neptune in Genoa, Italy: Massive galleon from a box-office bomb docked in Genoa.

Vigili del Fuoco

Discover Vigili del Fuoco in Palermo, Italy: A study of Fascist era Art Deco design in Italy.

The Uphill-Downhill Road of Ariccia

Discover The Uphill-Downhill Road of Ariccia in Albano Laziale, Italy: Things seem to roll, flow and run uphill on this short patch of road near Ariccia, Italy.

Marcello Cammi’s Sculpture Garden

Discover Marcello Cammi's Sculpture Garden in Bordighera, Italy: A wood-and-steel sculpture garden featuring an artful interplay of nature and machinery.

Farm Cultural Park

Discover Farm Cultural Park in Favara, Italy: This constantly evolving art space saved an Italian town from its own crippling reputation.

Anatomical Theatre at the University of Pavia

Discover Anatomical Theatre at the University of Pavia in Pavia, Italy: This 18th-century dissection theater's frescoes display a gorgeous tension between the terrestrial and esoteric.

Bosco Italia

Discover Bosco Italia in Norcia, Italy: A map of Italy made entirely of trees.

The Ossuary of Bicocca

Discover The Ossuary of Bicocca in Novara, Italy: This Italian pyramid is said to hold the mingled remains of the dead from both sides of the Battle of Novara.

Faceless Nuns of the Torba Monastery

Discover Faceless Nuns of the Torba Monastery in Torba, Italy: An unsettling painting of three faceless sisters that is surrounded by history and legend.

Church of Santa Margherita

Discover Church of Santa Margherita in Venice, Italy: This deconsecrated church has seen many uses, from a tobacco storehouse to a cinema.

Euganean Hills

Discover Euganean Hills in Cinto Euganeo, Italy: A sudden, striking cluster of hills south of Padua has been attracting visitors for centuries.

Cimitero di San Finocchi

Discover Cimitero di San Finocchi in Volterra, Italy: Abandoned cemetery of the former Psychiatric Hospital of Volterra.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 261 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. 480 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. 514 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. 642 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. 137 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. 172 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). 256 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 151 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. 98 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. 168

PP ToS