Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Ghost City of Monterano

Discover The Ghost City of Monterano in Canale Monterano, Italy: The remains of a town so thoroughly destroyed by French forces that the citizens simply left.

Christ of the Abyss

Discover Christ of the Abyss in San Fruttuoso, Italy: A sunken idol welcomes parishioners to Davy Jones' Locker.

Orvieto Underground

Discover Orvieto Underground in Orvieto, Italy: This picturesque Umbrian city has a subterranean side that has long remained hidden.

Road of 52 Tunnels

Discover Road of 52 Tunnels in Italy: This Italian foot path winds through the mountains via 52 individual tunnels.

Albergo Diurno Venezia

Discover Albergo Diurno Venezia in Milan, Italy: Long-abandoned art nouveau baths beneath Milan's Piazza Oberdan.

Natural Monument of Galeria Antica

Discover Natural Monument of Galeria Antica in Rome, Italy: An Italian ghost town that fought obscurity, until a mysterious illness brought it to its knees.

Aleister Crowley’s Abbey of Thelema

Discover Aleister Crowley's Abbey of Thelema in Cefalù, Italy: Where Aleister Crowley taught magick in "La Chambre Des Cauchemars," his "Chamber of Nightmares.".

Catacombs of San Gennaro

Discover Catacombs of San Gennaro in Naples, Italy: An underground paleo-Christian burial site composed of the remains of several cemeteries and Basilicas.

Calcata

Discover Calcata in Calcata Vecchia, Italy: Medieval town turned hippie commune, once home to the secret foreskin of Jesus Christ.

Villa Pisani Labirinto

Discover Villa Pisani Labirinto in Stra, Italy: A complex, nine-layer maze on the grounds of a Venetian doge's playground.

Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra

Discover Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra in Volterra, Italy: This real life asylum of horrors is now an abandoned ruin that hides the unbreakable code to one patient's insanity.

Monte Testaccio

Discover Monte Testaccio in Rome, Italy: This hill made entirely of ancient Roman jars was simply a garbage dump to the people of the time.

Keats-Shelley Memorial House

Discover Keats-Shelley Memorial House in Rome, Italy: Museum dedicated to literary greats of the Romantic Period is also the home in which Keats met his untimely end.

Lacus Curtius

Discover Lacus Curtius in Rome, Italy: A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

Sant’Agata de’ Goti

Discover Sant'Agata de' Goti in Sant'Agata Dé Goti, Italy: This medieval Italian town is a sheer (and beautiful) cliffside defense.

Mamertine Prison

Discover Mamertine Prison in Rome, Italy: This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

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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

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