The Lombards withdrew from their strongly fortified position where the Alpine passes widen out into valleys, and it was rumored that the Frankish army, aided by Lombard treachery, had found by-paths to avoid the strongly held Lombard camps and had marched down into the plain after Charles had stayed some time at Novalese, an abbey richly endowed by his family, where he took provisions for his march. In the meantime, Desiderius had fled to Pavia, his capital, preparing for a long siege. Most of his army was now scattered; a portion of it retreated, accompanying his son Adalghis, with the widow of Carloman and her children, to Verona, the strongest of the Lombard citadels. But the Lombard resistance was most ineffective; the Beneventines apparently took no part in the wars, while the people of the Spoletan duchy, deserting their duke, took the oath of allegiance to Hadrian, and many places in central Italy surrendered to the Pope. Charles began the siege of Pavia at the end of September, purposing by the capture of their chief city to end completely the dominion of the Lombards, and so to finish the work left half done by his father. Leaving the bulk of his army in front of the walls of Pavia, he took a division of Frankish troops and entered Verona without opposition. Adalghis fled to Constantinople. Carloman’s wife and heirs were now in the hands of the conquerors. There was no longer fear of opposition from other Lombard towns. The siege had already lasted six months, but the town was well provided with food, and was too strong to be taken by assault. Charles now left the siege with a large escort in order to celebrate the Easter festival at Rome. He was the first Frankish sovereign who had visited the city. Pippin, his father, notwithstanding his close alliance with the Church, had always scrupulously avoided making the pilgrimage to Rome, probably because he did not desire to pass through Lombard territories. Charles was received with the honors ordinarily given to the Exarch of Ravenna. As he entered St. Peter’s, the choir sang the anthem, “Blessed is He that Cometh in the Name of the Lord,” and there were many public demonstrations of friendship between the Pope and the King. But it is worth noting that Charles asked the Pope’s permission to enter the city, and great care had to be taken to prevent acts of violence between the residents of the city and the visitors from the North. The most important step taken before Charles left the city to return to Pavia, was the formal transfer to the Pope of a document signed by Charles and his nobles, authorizing the retention by the Pope of the existing patrimony of the Holy See, and also engaging that all private property belonging to it should be restored.