Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-de-l'Assomption

A radical interpretation of church architecture, this 1971 building achieves what most good cathedrals do: surprise and awe inside. Travertine stone lends a classical Italian grandeur to the exterior, while on the inside, the medieval tradition of stained-glass windows shows up in an unusual form, as an equilateral cross hovering above. The building was designed by a pair of Italians—engineer Pier Luigi Nervi and architect Pietro Belluschi—and takes inspiration from the Italian futurists of the early 20th century.