Verona Cathedral

Verona's cathedral sits in a bend of the Adige at the northern end of the old city, and it is not one building but a walled precinct of several.

The church itself is Romanesque below and Gothic above, with a carved porch by Nicolò -- the sculptor of San Zeno's facade -- whose door jambs carry Roland and Oliver, the paladins of Charlemagne, in a Christian cathedral.

Inside is Titian's Assumption, painted around 1535 for a chapel screened by Sanmicheli. Alongside stand the baptistery, the church of Sant'Elena, a Romanesque cloister and the Biblioteca Capitolare, one of the oldest working libraries in the world.

An active cathedral and a diocesan seat: keep quiet, stay out of services, and do not photograph people at prayer.

No flash, especially near the Titian, which hangs in its original chapel rather than in museum conditions.

The early-Christian pavements under the cloister are original mosaic. Keep to the walkways.

Buy the combined church ticket. It funds maintenance across churches that see far fewer visitors than this one.

The Biblioteca Capitolare is a working research library, not an exhibit. If you visit, do so on its terms.

The cathedral charges a small admission covering the whole precinct -- church, baptistery, Sant'Elena and the cloister -- and is included in the Verona Card and the combined church ticket.

It is a ten-minute walk north from Piazza delle Erbe, close to Ponte Pietra, and combines naturally with Sant'Anastasia and the Roman theatre across the river.

The Biblioteca Capitolare is a separate institution with its own limited opening hours -- check before counting on it.

Allow forty-five minutes for the precinct, longer with the library.

The church is largely level at the entrance; the cloister and excavations involve steps and uneven ground.

Hours are seasonal and shorter on Sunday mornings. Shoulders and knees should be covered.