Chiavenna is crowned by a ruined castle, once an important strategic point, and the seat of the counts who ruled the valley from the time of the Goths till 1194, when the district was handed over to the Bishops of Chur. In medieval times, the castello served as a residence of local counts controlling the Alpine passes in the north and east. The Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa first crossed Septimer Pass on his Italian campaign of 1163/64. It was in Chiavenna, where in 1176 he met with his Welf cousin, the Saxon duke Henry the Lion. He allegedly fell on his knees to implore Henry's aid against the cities of the Lombard League, however, the duke refused. Two years later, the forces of the Chur bishops advanced across the Alpine crest into the Val Bregaglia and by 1194, Chiavenna was incorporated into the Upper Raetian territories of the Duchy of Swabia.