The cathedral, dedicated to Assisi's third-century patron Saint Rufinus, sits on a quiet square slightly removed from the tourist routes. Its 13th-century Romanesque facade, with three rose windows and a row of grotesque carved figures, is one of the finest in Umbria — and arguably more handsome than San Francesco's plainer front.
The interior was rebuilt in the 16th century in Mannerist style, so it lacks the medieval atmosphere of the facade, but the romanesque crypt below survives intact. Climb the bell tower if it is open — the view over Assisi's terracotta roofs to Monte Subasio is excellent. The attached Museo Diocesano holds Cimabue's "Madonna and Saints" and other works from churches now closed.