A fortress of faith, an emblematic building of the architecture inspired by the war against the Cathars, the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia in Albi hides a peerless gathering of masterpieces behind its austere and powerful walls. In its infinite diversity, the choir is a hymn in stone which displays the splendours of the Flamboyant Gothic style, with the biggest medieval representation of the Last Judgment, and splendid vaults, entirely painted with exceptional brilliancy. The whole constitutes an admirable introduction to the divine mysteries of the celestial universe. It provides the best examples of French sculpture of the late Middle Ages, an excellent illustration of the virtuosity of Franco-Flemish painters and the first expression in France of the genius of the Italian Renaissance.