Longobards in Italy. Places of the Power (568-774 A.D.)

Between 568 and 774 the Lombards ruled much of the Italian peninsula, and seven scattered ensembles — fortresses, basilicas and monasteries from Cividale del Friuli to Benevento — preserve the best of what they built. Their architecture wove Roman inheritance, Byzantine currents and Germanic tradition into something new, bridging antiquity and the Middle Ages. UNESCO inscribed 'Longobards in Italy. Places of the Power' as a serial World Heritage property in 2011, crediting the dynasty's role in nurturing European monasticism.