San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro

Where: Pavia
Best for: Tomb of Saint Augustine
Allow: 45 minutes
Best time: Morning or late afternoon
Tickets: Free

This Romanesque brick basilica in Pavia holds the tomb of Saint Augustine. King Liutprand of the Lombards had the relics brought from Sardinia in the early eighth century, and he built the church to house them.

Above the altar stands the Arca of Saint Augustine, a fourteenth-century marble shrine carved with more than 150 statues and reliefs. In the crypt lies Boethius, the philosopher executed in 525, whom Dante places among the wise souls in Paradise as living at ‘Cieldauro’, the church’s golden ceiling. Napoleonic suppression left the basilica in ruin; Angelo Savoldi restored it between 1875 and 1896, and it reopened on 15 June 1896. Augustinian friars care for it today.

Four things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

The Arca of Saint AugustineGiovanni di Balduccio, fourteenth century
A Gothic marble shrine with more than 150 carved figures, above the tomb of Augustine.Presbytery
The crypt of BoethiusCrypt
The resting place of the philosopher of The Consolation of Philosophy, placed by Dante in Paradise.Beneath the church
Liutprand’s monumentMedieval Lombard king
The king who brought Augustine’s relics to Pavia rests in a simple monument.Last pillar of the right nave
The Romanesque brick facadeEleventh century
A plain facade with a carved Saint Michael flanked by two praying figures.Facade

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets: Free
Booking: No booking needed
Time needed: 45 minutes
Best time: Morning or late afternoon; the basilica closes for a midday break
Getting there: The basilica is in Pavia’s historic center, a short walk from the Duomo and reached on foot from the railway station along Strada Nuova. Pavia is about 35 km south of Milan by regional train. Street parking is limited, so leave the car outside the old town.
Accessibility: Listed by the Comune di Pavia as accessible to all.

Free entry. The basilica is a working place of worship: cover shoulders and knees and keep quiet during services.

Go down to the crypt of Boethius, then look up at the apse: the gilded vaults that gave the church its name are long gone, but the brick and the light still carry the story.

Official website

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