Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Domus de Janas Tombs

Discover Domus de Janas Tombs in Nughedu Santa Vittoria, Italy: Ancient cave tombs known as the "houses of fairies.".

Capo Testa Rock Formations

Discover Capo Testa Rock Formations in Capo Testa, Italy: Windblown rock formations in an ancient Roman quarry.

Casa Saldarini

Discover Casa Saldarini in Piombino, Italy: An unusual house built using an iso-elastic membrane.

Fontana Dei Matti

Discover Fontana Dei Matti in Gubbio, Italy: Fountain where visitors can earn a license to be mad.

Risiera di San Sabba

Discover Risiera di San Sabba in Trieste, Italy: During World War II, this rice mill became a Nazi concentration camp.

Montecristo

Discover Montecristo in Italy: The forbidden island of the Tuscan Archipelago may still contain buried treasure.

Fiat Lingotto Factory

Discover Fiat Lingotto Factory in Turin, Italy: Now an entertainment complex, the Lingotto building was once an avant-garde auto factory with a test track on the roof.

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.

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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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