Even wandering at random it is impossible to miss Piazza Grande, the geographical and historic centre of the city, where the monumental and the everyday, the religious and the secular, and past and present all meet. The apse and south side of the Duomo, as the cathedral is known, overlook the square, and this splendid example of Romanesque architecture, work on which started in 1099, is Modena's most important historic building. The motif of the blind arcaded loggia with triforium, the hanging arches, the columniferous lions, the porches and, on the main facade, the bas-reliefs by Wiligelmo are all typically Romanesque, but combined here in a building of unique character. It is worth visiting Modena to see the cathedral alone, since it encapsulates the art and culture of the late Middle Ages. Looking at it, the visitor realises that the cathedral is still alive and capable of communicating clearly with anyone able to interpret the meanings of its marble forms. A first sight it is obviously a blend of architecture and sculpture of rare beauty, and it is no coincidence that in an age when artists were considered mere craftsmen and only the names of their patrons who commissioned their works survived, the name of Lanfranco appears in the plaque on the main apse, and that of in the last line of the plaque on the facade supported by the prophets Enoch and Elias.