Duomo di Orvieto (Orvieto Cathedral)

The Duomo di Orvieto rises above the tufa cliff-top town like a giant reliquary, and its facade is among the most dazzling in Italy. Begun in 1290 and built over three centuries, the cathedral combines Romanesque and Gothic forms, but it is the west front that stops visitors in their tracks: a shimmering screen of golden mosaics, bronze doors, a rose window and carved marble reliefs that catch the light differently through the day. The lower pillars bear intricate 14th-century bas-reliefs of biblical scenes, from Genesis to the Last Judgment, carved by Lorenzo Maitani and his workshop. Inside, the striped nave of black basalt and white travertine leads to the cathedral's greatest treasure, the Cappella di San Brizio, where Luca Signorelli painted his monumental Last Judgment fresco cycle between 1499 and 1504, a tumult of resurrected bodies, demons and the damned that strongly influenced Michelangelo. Across the transept, the Cappella del Corporale houses the blood-stained altar cloth linked to the Miracle of Bolsena, the relic that prompted the cathedral's construction. Most visitors spend an hour to ninety minutes taking in the facade, the nave and the two chapels. The facade is best seen in late morning or at sunset, when the mosaics glow; the square fills with day trippers around midday, so early or late visits are calmer. Photography is allowed in the main church but restricted in the San Brizio chapel. A combined ticket covers the chapel and other town sites, and timed entry can apply in peak season. The cathedral stands on Piazza Duomo in Orvieto, reached by the funicular from the railway station, and is the undisputed highlight of this hill town in southern Umbria.