Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile

The Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi is one of the most extraordinary ecclesiastical buildings in France, and one of the least expected. Built in warm rose-red brick between 1282 and 1480, it is the largest brick Gothic cathedral in the world — but what strikes you first is not its size but its character. The exterior walls are plain, sheer, and so high that the building looks more like a military fortification than a church, which was exactly the point. It was built in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade as a visual statement of Catholic authority over a region that had twice defied Rome.

Inside, the severity gives way completely. The entire nave is covered in Italian Renaissance frescoes — painted between 1509 and 1512 — giving the interior an almost overwhelming richness of colour. The choir screen is a masterpiece of late Gothic carving. The great organ dates from 1736 and still plays. Together it makes for a building of unusual complexity: hard and forbidding outside, opulent and startling within.

The cathedral is part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Episcopal City of Albi and the centrepiece of the hilltop complex that overlooks the Tarn river.

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The cathedral's interior is entirely covered with Italian Renaissance frescoes — the largest collection of such frescoes in France — painted between 1509 and 1512 by a team of Bolognese artists. But the most dramatic element is the Last Judgement mural above the west entrance, which was partially destroyed in the 17th century when someone cut a door through the middle of it to create easier access. The severed figures of the damned are still visible on either side of the opening.