Longobards in Italy, Places of Power
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How it came to be
In the spring of 568 King Alboin, fearing the Avars, left Pannonia and led the Lombards into Italy. Pavia fell in 572 after a three-year siege and became the first capital of the new kingdom. The Lombards, a people of Germanic origin, converted to Christianity in Italy and built in a style that mixed Roman, Byzantine and northern traditions.
In 753 Desiderius, then Duke of Brescia and later king, founded the monastery of San Salvatore with his wife Ansa. Around 760 Duke Arechis II of Benevento built the church of Santa Sofia, modelled on King Liutprand's palatine chapel in Pavia. After conquering the Gargano in the 7th century, the Lombards adopted the sanctuary of San Michele at Monte Sant'Angelo as their own and spread the cult of the Archangel Michael.
In 774 Desiderius surrendered and Charlemagne took the title King of the Lombards. The southern Duchy of Benevento stayed effectively independent. Paul the Deacon wrote his History of the Lombards between 787 and 796. In 2011 seven places were inscribed together: Cividale del Friuli, Brescia, Castelseprio, Spoleto, Campello sul Clitunno, Benevento and Monte Sant'Angelo.
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