Lombard architecture

The architectural works of the Lombards in northern Italy (Langobardia Major) have been mostly lost due to later renovations or reconstructions, the few exceptions including the Tempietto longobardo at Cividale del Friuli or the Church of Santa Maria foris portas at Castelseprio.

Some trends, which usually ran in different ways from the Roman and Palaeo-Christian architectures predominant in Italy up to late Antiquity, have been identified from archaeological studies or other sources.

The destroyed church of Santa Maria in Pertica at Pavia, for example, had a typical Roman plan (octagonal with an ambulatory delimited by columns) but very high central body was a novelty.

This trend, characterized by the co-presence of different influences and the adoption of new techniques, culminated in the reign of king Liutprand (712–744), in particular at Cividale del Friuli.

[4] In this period, the construction of monasteries received a particular impulse, not only as places of adoration or as shows of faith of the commissioners, but also as shelters for the latter's assets and persons and as sites of political control.