Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Terme di Saturnia

Discover Terme di Saturnia in Saturnia, Italy: Geothermal waterfalls in Tuscany.

Zuccari Palace

Discover Zuccari Palace in Rome, Italy: Architectural monsters are devouring this palace's every door and window.

Capuchin Monastery Catacombs

Discover Capuchin Monastery Catacombs in Palermo, Italy: Thousands of well-dressed mummies below a monastery.

Herculaneum

Discover Herculaneum in Ercolano, Italy: Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.

The Protestant Cemetery

Discover The Protestant Cemetery in Rome, Italy: The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats.

Domus Aurea

Discover Domus Aurea in Rome, Italy: The insane pleasure dome of ancient Rome's lunatic emperor still holds the undiscovered secrets of his mad imagination.

Neptune’s Grotto

Discover Neptune's Grotto in Alghero, Italy: Stalactites and stalagmites in a beautifully lit cave.

San Bernardino alle Ossa

Discover San Bernardino alle Ossa in Milan, Italy: An ossuary built in 1210 to collect bones from the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan.

The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria

Discover The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria in Venice, Italy: As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

Buontalenti Grotta

Discover Buontalenti Grotta in Florence, Italy: A large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.

St. Valentine’s Skull

Discover St. Valentine's Skull in Rome, Italy: The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

The Colossus of Villa Demidoff

Discover The Colossus of Villa Demidoff in Vaglia, Italy: Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

Via Appia

Discover Via Appia in Rome, Italy: 2300-year-old Roman road connecting the empire.

Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy

Discover Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy in Florence, Italy: The oldest operating pharmacy in the world features 800-year-old recipes.

Santa Maria dell’Orazione e Morte

Discover Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte in Rome, Italy: At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.

Michelangelo’s Hidden Drawings

Discover Michelangelo's Hidden Drawings in Florence, Italy: The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel.

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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