Italy is bidding to add its trove of Lombard architecture to UNESCO's World Heritage list.
Launching the drive on Wednesday, Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said recognition for the long-neglected gems would boost the Italian tourist trade, ''helping visitors venture off the beaten track''.
Seven achievements of Italian Lombard culture have been put forward.
They include the Santa Giulia monastery in Brescia, a fort and tower at Castelseprio near Varese and a collection of restored ruins at Cividale, Friuli, the first Lombard city in Italy.
These three sites, all in northern Italy, are joined by two in Umbria: the church of San Salvatore at Spoleto and the nearby Tempietto ('little temple') at the Campello beauty spot.
The list is rounded off by the well-preserved church of Santa Sofia in Benevento east of Naples and the shrine of St Michael at Monte Sant'Angelo near Foggia on the heel of Italy's boot.
''It's an itinerary that takes in the whole of the country, from Friuli in the far north-east to Puglia in the far south-east, attesting to the extent of Lombard attractions in Italy,'' Rutelli said.
The Lombards, or Longobards, swept down to conquer Byzantine Italy in the fourth century AD.
From their base in present-day Lombardy they extended their sway over the whole country until they were in turn conquered by the Franks in the eight century AD.
Originally a pagan tribe, they became staunch defenders of Christianity and a bulwark of the Church in the Dark Ages.
Among the beacons they preserved for posterity was Bobbio Abbey near Piacenza, once the home of a fabled library.
It was the model for the monastery in Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose.
Italy pulled ahead of Spain on UNESCO's roll of honour when its 41st heritage site, Genoa's historic Rolli network of palazzi, was honoured last year.
