Duomo di Spoleto (Spoleto Cathedral)

The Duomo di Spoleto, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is one of the loveliest Romanesque cathedrals in Umbria, set at the foot of a gently sloping piazza that opens dramatically as visitors descend the steps towards it. Consecrated in 1198, its facade blends a Romanesque rose window and a delicate Renaissance portico added in 1491, crowned by a glittering Byzantine-style mosaic of Christ enthroned signed by Solsternus in 1207. The bell tower beside it was built partly from reused Roman blocks. Inside, the great draw is the apse, filled with the luminous fresco cycle of the Life of the Virgin painted between 1467 and 1469 by Filippo Lippi and his workshop; the artist died in Spoleto before completing it and is buried in the right transept beneath a monument designed by his son Filippino. The Coronation of the Virgin in the half-dome, set against deep blues and warm golds, is the masterpiece. Other treasures include a letter written by Saint Francis preserved in the Cappella delle Reliquie and a Cosmatesque marble floor. A visit usually takes forty-five minutes to an hour, longer if the paid tour of the upper levels is taken. The sloping Piazza del Duomo in front becomes a celebrated open-air stage during the summer Festival dei Due Mondi, when concerts fill the square. Late afternoon light warms the facade and the mosaic, and the cathedral is reached on foot or by the covered escalators that climb through Spoleto's old town. Admission to the church is free, with a charge for the upper-cathedral tour.