The city of Pavia, founded by the Ligurians on the bank of the river Ticino and founded again by the Romans in 89 B.C. was chosen as the capital of the kingdom both by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric (who got the Royal Place built in Pavia) and by the Lombard kings who embellished the town with several wonderful churches. In the 10th century Pavia faced a decaying period: in 924 the Hungarians sacked and devastated the city. Nevertheless during the 9th century many political changes gave birth to a free city-state. Thus, at the beginning of the new millennium, Pavia passed through a prosperous and intense period for its economy, politics and culture.
This climate of rebirth was reflected in a new architectural fervour. In fact several builder’s yards were opened, new places of worship were built, old and noble religious places recovered their former magnificence. The remarkable quantity of churches and monasteries, which highlighted the sight of the medieval town, was partly due to Pavia’s traditional religious vocation, partly to its strategical position on the “Francigena Via”, the atonement journey of the pilgrims towards the Holy Land. Furthermore, several religious believers came to Pavia, attracted by the sacred remains of St. Augustine, the Doctor of the Church, entombed in San Pietro in ciel d’oro Basilica. This helped foster a growing need to provide accomodation to travellers and many hospital facilities were built in Pavia.
The thriving vitality of the period was also reflected in Pavia’s economy, since the city was ideally situated at the cross-roads to northern Europe. Moreover, the longest river, the Po, into which the river Ticino flows, provided, a privileged route towards Venice and the East. During the two fairs of Saint Martin and Palm Sunday in Pavia, many exotic items were displayed on the stalls. These products, such as fabrics, spices, carpets, drew several merchants from Naples, Salerno, Amalfi. Thanks to its wealth and traditional ties with the imperial power, Pavia competed with Milan since the end of the 9th century, in order to conquer the leading role in becoming the cultural and political capital in Lombardy.