Everyone knows that the best part of any cathedral is the ceiling, a point driven home by Heavenly Vaults, a book that features photographer David Stephenson’s beautiful shots of Europe’s Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and churches. Flattened out by Stephenson’s worm’s-eye view perspective, these kaleidoscopic images allow you to appreciate the pleasing symmetry created by the repeating geometric patterns. The longer you look at each of his mesmerizing photos, the more new details emerge. It’s crazy to think that these architectural marvels were conceived and constructed by hand hundreds and hundreds of years ago; in fact, it makes you feel incredibly small, which from our understanding, was kind of the point. Click through to experience all of the eye candy, minus the inevitable neck-ache.

Photo credit: David Stephenson. Spotted via Visual News
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