Abbazia di Santo Stefano

The Abbey of Santo Stefano stands on a terrace above Via XX Settembre in Genoa. Its Romanesque church preserves medieval layers despite the loss of its right aisle during nineteenth-century street works and the destruction caused by Second World War bombing.

Why it matters

The site has an early medieval history. The abbey's foundation is dated to around 972 under Bishop Teodolfo, while the Romanesque church developed in a later phase. The building records both the transformation of Genoa's urban fabric and the reconstruction of its historic churches after wartime damage.

What to notice

The church has a single-hall Romanesque plan and a raised presbytery. Its façade combines black-and-white bands, a deep pointed portal and a rose window; the apse retains blind arcading. Paintings include Giulio Romano's Martyrdom of Saint Stephen, Giulio Cesare Procaccini's Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew and Giovan Battista Baiardo's Resurrection. A baptismal font bears a tradition that Christopher Columbus was baptised here.

Context and history

The late-nineteenth-century construction of Via XX Settembre removed the chapels of the church's right aisle. Bombing in 1942 and 1943 left the church and monastery in ruins. Reconstruction began in 1946 and was completed in 1955, restoring the Romanesque forms. Since 2004, the church has also hosted liturgies in the Byzantine-Ukrainian rite on holidays.