Orvieto Cathedral

You're standing in front of Orvieto Cathedral, high on the volcanic rock this town is built on. Start with that golden façade. It's a masterpiece of the late Middle Ages, and the whole building took almost three centuries to finish. The three-gabled design is by the Sienese master builder Lorenzo Maitani. Down on the piers you'll see marble reliefs with stories from the Bible, from the Creation on the far left to the Last Judgment on the right. Above them shine mosaics of the life of the Virgin Mary. In the middle sits a huge rose window, framed by fifty-two carved heads, with the head of Christ at its centre. The three bronze doors are the newest part. They're by the Sicilian sculptor Emilio Greco, and were only finished in 1970.