A church dedicated to Saint Peter, recorded in Pavia in 604, was renovated by Liutprand, the King of the Lombards (who is buried here) between 720 and 725. The Romanesque church was consecrated by Pope Innocent II in 1132.

"San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro" is the resting place for the relics of Augustine of Hippo ("Saint Augustine") known as a very important early Christian theologian and philosopher, whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He died in 430 in Northern Africa, where he was buried. When Huneric, King of the Arian Vandals, expelled the Catholic bishops, the body was removed to Cagliari (Sardinia).

Liutprand´s uncle Peter, the bishop of Pavia, then transferred the remains - and deposited in this church about 720.

Since 1327 the Augustinians guard the tomb, though the remains at that time were lost until workers digging in the crypt discovered a marble box containing numerous bones. It was claimed, that the name "Augustine" was written in the box with charcoal.

When the Augustinians had to take refuge in Milan in 1700, they carried the relics with them. The church fell into disrepair and was used as a magazine under the Napoleonic occupation. It was finally reconstructed in the late 19th century and reconsecrated in 1896 when the relics of Augustine and the shrine were once again reinstalled.

In the center of the presbytery is the white "Arca di Sant'Agostino", the tomb of Saint Augustine, created in 1362. The name of the church "San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro" (= Saint Peter in the Golden Sky) refers to the large mosaic of the apse.