Both a museum and the official palace of the Spanish royal family, the Palacio Real features armor, artworks and treasures that were once the private possessions of Spain's kings and queens. Inside the Palacio Real, Madrid, we discover that Spain reached its height of glory not through the acquisition of silver and gold, but because of the unique properties of a third element. We investigate how a famous swordsman bested 17 challengers, then examine...

A tale of one family's ambition and of Europe's struggle to emerge from the ravages of the Dark Ages. The Medici used charm, skill, and ruthlessness to garner unparalleled wealth and power, ruling Europe for more than 300 years.

The secrets of the dome that rises over the town of Florence were buried centuries ago within the cathedral itself-along with the enigmatic genius who designed and built it: Filipo Brunelleschi. How was Brunelleschi able to build the world's largest brick and mortar dome, at a time when the technological know-how of the time should have made it impossible? One scholar has gone to the extreme lengths of constructing his own model of the dome to prove...