The area around the town centre where the walls used to stand is dominated by churches and convents, also brick-built. Approaching the centre from the South, the first to be encountered is the pitted, unfinished facade of San Francesco. A little further on, the facade of San Bernardino (like that of Sant'Ignazio more to the North), consists of a fine geometrical pattern created by relief effects in the brickwork. To the West, the scene is dominated by the massive bulk of San Nicolÿ, a blend of architectural parts with dome, towers and turrets around the apse.