Duomo di Monza

This cathedral north of Milan is famous for housing the Iron Crown of Lombardy, an ancient royal diadem said to contain a nail from the Crucifixion. Its green-and-white striped façade and tall bell tower dominate the old town. A chapel frescoed with the story of the Lombard queen Theodelinda tells the church's founding legend. A distinctive detail is the treasury museum, whose Lombard-era gold and silver objects rank among the most important early-medieval church treasures surviving in Europe.