Pavia, San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro

The Basilica - which is the resting place for the remains of Saint Martyr Severinus Boethius d of the Saint Doctor of the Church Augustine, is called in Ciel d’Oro (in the golden sky) because it has a completely gilded wooden ceiling.
Renovated between 720 and 725 by Liutprand, king of the Lombards, who placed the remains of St Augustine here, it became one of the richest and most significant cultural centres of the European Middle Ages, thanks to the numerous donations granted by Popes and emperors.
The church, which dates back to the first half of the 12th century, is one of the earliest examples of Romanesque style in Pavia, and includes the main features of this architectural style.
The façade, made of red bricks, has a hut-shaped frame typical of the Romanesque architecture in Pavia and two buttresses that divide it in three parts, projecting the internal division in one nave and two aisles. Another important element is the portal featuring three frames.
Inside the building is the arc of St Augustine, a very fine work made by a group of Lombard sculptors in the second half of the 14th century.