Do you like to explore places shrouded in mystery and folklore? There are literally tons of weird and creepy places in Italy making it a remarkable destination for this experience. Yes, it might be a surprise that Italy has many places like this. The country is known for its delicious food, its history, and wonderful art. But just like it has all these things, it’s also the home to some of the creepiest tourist attractions in the world.

Creepy Places in Italy

The Capuchin Catacombs

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It may not be a surprise that Italy has many catacombs. The Capuchin Catacombs are situated in Palermo, Sicily, and should have been for the monks of the monastery. However, many others were buried there, besides the monks. Now, the place is full of mummies that are lined on the walls. It has about 8,000 mummies, and they are decomposing. Some of them are even set to stay in certain poses. Some people have declared that the catacombs are haunted. They think that skeletons have moved, or that they’ve heard certain sounds, like whispers.

Volterra’s former mental asylum

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Mental asylums are creepy anyway, but there’s something special that comes when a building is abandoned. This particular asylum used to mistreat the patients, so it was closed in 1978. The ruins started to crumble ever since. Moreover, there was a patient with the name of Oreste Ferdinando Nannetti that scribbled runes on the walls. Doesn’t this already seem like a movie scene?

Museum of Purgatory

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Near Castel Sant’Angelo, there is the church of Sacro Cuore Suffragio. In the church, there is one room called Museum of Souls in Purgatory. Apparently, the room has many souls that are trapped between heaven and hell. Additionally, the evidence would be the fact that many books have handprints burned onto the pages.

Ca’Dario

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Many people think of Venice as the most haunted place in Europe. Ca’Dario is a beautiful house that, according to people, is cursed. Many people who owned the house have died in strange ways. Also, the one who built the house, Giovanni Dario, owned it for a while and also had various problems. While living there, his son was murdered and his daughter committed suicide. There were other murders and suicides in the house, and everyone who has ever owned it has died mysteriously.

Chapel of the Dead

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Chapel of the Dead is a cathedral built in Otranto in the 11th century by the Normans. The cathedral contains many skulls and bones of 813 martyrs that were beheaded in 1480, during the Turkish massacre. Here you can also find the stone upon which the acts were performed. It also has a crypt that you can visit if you are brave enough and love this kind of things. Talk about one of the really weird and creepy places in Italy!

Galileo’s Middle Finger

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Isn’t this rude? Or is it just one of the badass creepy places in Italy? Well, it seems that Italians have decided to keep this wonderful gesture as a tourist attraction. The finger can be found at the Florence Museum of Science, and it really seems strange to keep someone’s rotten finger as an attraction. Maybe it isn’t people visiting these attractions that are the dark ones, after all. 95 years after Galileo’s death, Anton Francesco Gori removed the finger from his body and now, it is kept in a container made from gold and glass, like a religious relic. This is funny considering the church accused him of heresy in the past. Well, he can’t be blamed for the rude gesture if they ruined his eternal sleep for something like this. 

Mussolini’s Villa Torlonia Bunker

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Mussolini’s Bunker is where the Duce was hiding with his family from the allied bombs. It is situated in Rome, beneath Villa Torlonia. The bunker might look like a normal one to you. However, isn’t it fascinating to visit a place where one of the world’s greatest dictators was hiding? When history meets weird, you get some creepy places in Italy!

The Catacombs on the Via Appia Antica

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These catacombs are situated outside of Rome and it’s the place where a lot of popes were buried. One of the oldest and largest catacombs here is St. Domitilla, so make sure to visit it. Also, you can visit San Sebastiano, where Saint Sebastian was buried, as well as San Callisto, which contains 14 papal crypts.

The Colosseum

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This is probably not a new thing to you, as you have seen a lot of people taking pictures in front of this attraction. However, what is less known is the fact that 400,000 people and 1,000,000 animals have died here, with 65,000 Romans cheering. Well, what are your thoughts now thinking about all the people smiling in front of this dark place?

Poveglia

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Poveglia is an island in Venice and might be one of the creepiest places there. It’s located in the Venetian lagoon and is closed for tourists. Apparently, a witch or healer cursed the island, so nobody would live there, and people are actually refusing to stay there. Still, it was used as a mass burial place during the plague.

It was also a hospital for the mentally ill. A doctor at the hospital was apparently torturing and killing his patients through gruesome methods. He also killed himself later, by jumping from a window. It’s also believed that at least 160,000 people died on the island, making it one of the places in the world with the highest death count. Additionally, people think the island is haunted by the people who died there as well. Many reported hearing cries and screams. This is surely a place to be scared of!

Final Thoughts

Everyone has a dark side that they’re trying to satisfy. Liking creepy places is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it makes someone different, unique. Italy provides many of the things Halloween lovers like to see. Therefore, if you’re looking for real creepy places, this country might be your best bet. Don’t miss out on the catacombs and the other “haunted” places.

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Author Bio: Sam Ross runs the blog thehammockhombre.com – a travel blog focused on the digital nomad lifestyle. Over the past 3 years, he’s traveled to every continent, so writes on a broad range of countries, cities and destinations.