Cathedral of Pavia

The Basilica of San Michele Maggiore dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries and is one of the most beautiful churches in the Lombard Romanesque style. A previous building having been destroyed by fire in 1004, the construction of the present basilica began towards the end of the 11th century and was certainly completed in 1155, with an interruption due to the great earthquake of 1117. San Michele stands out from the other churches in the city for its intensive use, both for its structure and for its decorations, of fragile ochre-coloured sandstone instead of terracotta. The façade is decorated with a rich repertoire of beautiful sandstone sculptures.

The Church of Sant'Eusebio was a church in Pavia, of which only the crypt remains today. Built as an Arian cathedral by King Rothari (636-652), it later became an important place of conversion to Catholicism for the Lombards. The crypt of Sant'Eusebio is one of the two proto-Romanesque crypts in Pavia, together with that of S. Giovanni Domnarum. The crypt is divided into five naves by slender columns supporting cross vaults. The capitals of the columns are truncated pyramid-shaped and reproduce various motifs. Together with the cycle of Romanesque frescoes that decorate the vaults, they constitute the most interesting elements of the crypt.

The Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro was built at the beginning of the 8th century, in the middle of the Lombard era and is called St. Peter in the Golden Sky because of its golden ceilings. The church was reconsecrated by Pope Innocent II in 1132 after major renovations in Romanesque style. Having fallen into a state of abandonment and ruin after the Napoleonic period, the basilica was restored and partially rebuilt between 1875 and 1899.