Urban photographer Roman Robroek spent five years scouring the continent for the grandest examples of forgotten architectural beauty. Here: A room with a view in Italy. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





A miniature snooker table was left in this house in France. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





This grand Italian house would require careful renovation. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





Comfy but not cosy. An abandoned Italian living room. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





A medieval Italian castle transformed into an oriental palace. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





This French staircase retains its charm. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





A heroic house in Italy. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





Watch your step on this Polish spiral staircase. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





A piano abandoned in a house in Poland. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





Books litter this huge house in Germany. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





A palatial French bedroom. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





In Poland, seemingly, they always leave the piano. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





An elegant wood-panelled lobby in Belgium. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





A more curvaceous creation in Belgium. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





Light floods into this Italian palace. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





Grandeur turned to rubble in Italy. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





This Italian one, on the other hand ….(Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)





No one makes grand entrances in this French property any more. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)