Piazza Duomo

Named after Our Lady of the Visitation, the city's patron saint, the Cathedral stands on a rocky relief at the top of a spectacular staircase, the imposing façade looking down onto the square below.  Built in the early 1300s by an Aragonese queen, after the building was destroyed in a devastating fire, it was reconstructed a century and a half later.  Only the apse retains evidence of the original structure, including a beautiful walled Gothic portal: this is the Jubilee Gate requested from the Pope in order to support the reconstruction.

The sombre and imposing aspect is mainly due to the portal, also 16th-century. The marble relief with its vibrant decoration of St Martin on horseback and the pauper, with whom the saint shares his mantle, was once housed in the castle chapel.

The twin sculpted lions at the base of the portal are from the Aragonese era, but the truly amazing feature of the interior is the 16th-century panelled ceiling above the central nave, divided from the side aisles by a double row of lava stone columns. The elaborately-decorated marble pulpit dates from the 17th century. Among the large paintings on display, the five of the Virgin Mary in the apse particularly stand out: they are the work of an early 17th-century Tuscan painter. The Treasure of the cathedral is open to the public at the Alessi Museum, just a short distance away towards the castle. The largest and most stunning piece is the Baroque-style crown of the patron saint.