Piazza Maggiore and San Petronio

Piazza Maggiore is one of the biggest medieval squares in Italy and the only wide open space in a city otherwise roofed over by porticoes. San Petronio closes the southern side: white and pink marble for the lower third, bare brick for everything above, because the money ran out in the sixteenth century and never came back.

That half-finished front is the reason the square photographs so well. The marble base gives a bright, patterned backdrop at eye level and the brick above it stays neutral, so people stand out against it instead of competing with ornament.

The basilica faces north, which means it never takes direct sun on the front, but the buildings opposite bounce warm morning light straight onto it. Before nine the square is close to empty; by eleven it is a thoroughfare.

The raised stone platform in front, the Crescentone, is where everyone sits in the evening. It is public and free at any hour; entry to the basilica has its own opening times and rules, and a session belongs outside anyway.