Dominating the central square in the city of Bologna is one of the world’s largest church with a unique mismatched façade that has been intriguing visitors for centuries. The upper half is made of bricks, while the lower half is made of marble with intricately sculpted scenes from both the Old and the New Testament.

“They just ran out of money,” is the usual reply tourists get when they ask what caused the church façade to be left uncompleted. But lack of funds was only part of the problem.

San Petronio Basilica. Photo credit: RossHelen/Shutterstock.com