It needs a double-take before you realize why the Duomo looks odd. The building is fronted by a severely assymetric deception - its right-hand arch and loggias are squeezed by the belltower, which was already in place from an early building. Nonetheless, little detracts from its overall grandeur, created by the repetition of tiny columns and loggias and by the stunning atrium , whose bas-reliefs are some of the finest sculptures in the city. The carvings over the left-hand door - a Deposition , Annunciation, Nativity and Adoration of the aggregation - are by Nicola Pisano . Other panels display a symbolic labyrinth, a Tree of Life (with Adam and Eve at the bottom and Christ at the top), a bestiary of grotesques and the months of the year. The interior (Mon-Sat 7am-6.30pm, Sun 9.30am-6.45pm) is best known for the contribution of Matteo Civitali (1435-1501), who is represented here most famously by the Tempietto , a gilt-and-marble octagon halfway down the church. Some fanatically intense acts of devotion are performed in front of it, directed at the Volto Santo (Holy Face), a cedarwood crucifix with bulging eyes popularly said to be a true effigy of Christ carved by Nicodemus, an eyewitness to the Crucifixion. Legend has it that the Volto Santo came to Lucca of its own volition, first journeying by boat from the Holy Land, and then brought by oxen guided by divine will. The effigy attracted pilgrims from all over Europe: King William Rufus of England used to swear by it ( “Per sanctum vultum de Lucca!” ). The Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto (1410), originally situated in the north transept, is now in the room to the south following lengthy restoration (Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.45pm, Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun 9-9.50am, 11.30-11.50am & 1-6pm; L3000/¬1.55; joint ticket with Museo della Cattedrale and San Giovanni L8000/¬4.13). Considered the masterpiece of Sienese sculptor Jacopo della Quercia , it consists of a raised ambo and the sculpted body of Ilaria, second wife of Paolo Guinigi, one of Lucca’s medieval big shots. In a touching, almost sentimental gesture, the artist has carved the family dog at her feet. Also within the room is a superb Madonna Enthroned by Ghirlandaio .

Occupying a converted twelfth-century building opposite the duomo is the Museo della Cattedrale (daily 10am-6pm; Nov-April Mon-Fri closes 5pm; L6000/¬3.10; joint ticket with Tomb of Ilaria and San Giovanni L8000/¬4.13). This contains some unnerving Romanesque stone heads, human and equine and, in room II on the upper floor, a reliquary from Limoges decorated with stories from the life of St Thomas à Becket alongside the Croce dei Pisani , an ornate fifteenth-century gold crucifix. West of the duomo is the church of San Giovanni (same hours; L2000/¬1.03; joint ticket with Tomb of Ilaria and Museo della Cattedrale L8000/¬4.13). This was Lucca’s cathedral until 715, and excavations here have unearthed a tangle of remains, from Roman mosaics to traces of a Carolingian church.