There are green fertile valleys, old brigands' hideaways, cherry orchards -- and a mysterious flask allegedly containing a very special blood. Amaseno, a tiny village located in the province of Frosinone between Rome and Naples, harbors a mystical secret that, locals say, questions the laws of nature.

The villagers venerate a glass vial said to contain a saint's blood that is regularly involved in what they deem a "miracle." For the past four centuries, every year -- sometimes even more than once -- what is believed to be the blood and flesh of St. Lawrence liquifies -- turning from a dense, dark, brownish lump to a bright, shiny, ruby-red fluid mixed with other elements.