Parma Cathedral and Baptistery

Parma Cathedral is a Romanesque church with a dome painted by Correggio (the Assumption of the Virgin, an illusionistic masterpiece that makes the dome appear to open to the sky). Free to enter. The Baptistery next door (paid, modest) is an octagonal pink marble building with extraordinary medieval frescoes inside. Budget travelers enter the cathedral for free, look up at the dome, and decide whether the Baptistery justifies the ticket.