Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Relics of the Apostle St. Thomas

Discover Relics of the Apostle St. Thomas in Ortona, Italy: The relics of one of Jesus' 12 apostles are enshrined in this Italian Basilica.

The Stele of Mount Musinè

Discover The Stele of Mount Musinè in Val della Torre, Italy: A mysterious stele of unknown origin sits on the peak of this curious mountain.

Torre Bert Listening Station

Discover Torre Bert Listening Station in Turin, Italy: Some people believe that this makeshift space monitoring station received transmissions from clandestine cosmonauts.

Peter Mitterhofer Typewriter Museum

Discover Peter Mitterhofer Typewriter Museum in Partschins, Italy: Typewriter museum housing more than 1,500 machines preserves the history of the grandfather of computers.

Sabaudia

Discover Sabaudia in Sabaudia, Italy: A town saturated in Italian rationalist architecture was once marshland drained by Mussolini.

Liver of Piacenza

Discover Liver of Piacenza in Piacenza, Italy: The entire known universe of the ancient Etruscans is held inside this bronze model of a sheep’s liver.

Alba Fucens

Discover Alba Fucens in Alba, Italy: Ever loyal to Roma, the small village of Albe in the Abruzzo region carried on until an earthquake did it in.

Pylons of Messina

Discover Pylons of Messina in Messina, Italy: Climb the dead electric pylons of Messina.

Museo Canova

Discover Museo Canova in Possagno, Italy: The home of a neoclassical master is now a shrine to his chosen art style.

Tempio Voltiano

Discover Tempio Voltiano in Como, Italy: Old batteries and frog skeletons reside in this lakeside monument to Alessandro Volta.

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.

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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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