By 1310, when papal taxation records enable us to assess, for the first time, the relative wealth of south Italian churches, the abbey of Cava was estimated to have an income of 700 unciae a year. This was still less than half that of Montecassino, but was substantially more than any other south Italian monastery, and was rivalled only by a handful of the wealthiest archbishoprics. Cava had developed into a very different institution from the tiny eremitic community founded by Abbot Alferius. The transformative period had been, above all, the long and highly successful abbacy of Peter I (1079–1123), during whose rule Cava had acquired much of its endowment and the core of its congregation of dependent monastic cells and churches. During this period Cava gained the patronage both of the new Norman nobility and of the survivors belonging to the Lombard upper class from the principality of Salerno, as well as the benefactions of many lesser figures. The community grew in both size and wealth. But the expansion of Cava and its congregation continued, albeit at a slower pace, for the rest of the twelfth century. Two of its most important subordinate churches, St Maria de Domno in Salerno and St Nicholas at Capaccio, were acquired only during the mid-twelfth century. Furthermore, the expansion of Cava’s landed endowment was never simply the product of pious benefactions – from an early date purchase played a significant role, and expenditure on such purchases reached a peak in the decade after 1110. While purchasing never again reached this level, and there were considerable fluctuations depending, for example, on the political situation, the abbey continued to be a major operator within the local land market until the German conquest of 1194. Cava also benefited from generally good relations with the south Italian episcopate, which contributed to the expansion of its ecclesiastical congregation and to the privileged status of many of its subordinate churches. Its relations with its benefactors were often complex and the latter’s motivations could be mixed. Nor indeed was there always a clear distinction between pious oblation and sale. But, notwithstanding these reservations, a number of families remained benefactors or associates of Cava over several generations.