Abbazia di Santo Stefano

A treasure chest of history and art is undoubtedly the abbey church of Santo Stefano, a precious testimony of the powerful Benedictine abbey founded by Litolfo da Carrara in 1027, which became so powerful that it attracted the economic interests of noble families from all over Italy, including the Medici of Florence. It was suppressed by the Republic of Venice in the 18th century, but we can still admire, in addition to the church, the bell tower, the ancient cemetery, and a small square facing the rectory, once part of the ancient monastery, where the plan of the cloister is traced on the pavement. In the center, there is a stone well head from 1335, sculpted with the crests of Marsilio da Carrara, lord of Padua, who is buried inside the church in a refined hanging mausoleum. The floor preserves three fragments of an ancient mosaic carpet (10th-11th century): the central one, reminiscent of the coat of arms of the Carraresi, formed by pieces of marble with a striking chromatic effect, while the other two compositions in tesserae depict Christian symbols through subjects taken from flora and fauna. Finally, there is a beautiful painted terracotta deposition, a 15th-century work by Andrea Briosco, known as Il Riccio, a famous artist of the Italian Renaissance, and an altarpiece attributed to Giovanni Battista Bissoni depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Stephen, the protomartyr to whom the church is dedicated.