Cattedrale di Santo Stefano e Santa Maria Assunta

Northern Italy's fourth-largest dome and an unfinished Renaissance facade — Pavia Cathedral holds relics of the city's first bishop.

Pavia Cathedral is the main church of the city and seat of the Diocese of Pavia. Construction began in 1488 on the site of two side-by-side Romanesque cathedrals that were gradually demolished to make way for the new building. The cathedral's dome rises nearly 97 metres, making it the fourth largest in Italy after St Peter's in Rome, the Pantheon, and Florence Cathedral. Inside, the church preserves the relics of Saint Sirus, Pavia's first bishop, and a thorn believed to be from the Crown of Thorns. Remarkably, the exterior marble cladding was never finished — leaving an unresolved Renaissance facade that has stood in its rough state for over five centuries.