Chiesa di Santo Stefano

The Church of Santo Stefano in Casale Monferrato was rebuilt in the seventeenth century to a design by canon Sebastiano Guala. It contains paintings by Pier Francesco Guala, Guglielmo Caccia, known as Il Moncalvo, and Giovan Francesco Caroto.

Why it matters

Santo Stefano preserves an important group of paintings associated with the artistic history of Casale Monferrato. Its architecture and decoration reflect the city's Baroque development, while the neighbouring Torre Civica recalls an earlier medieval phase.

What to notice

Fifteen round paintings by Pier Francesco Guala depict prophets and saints. A lateral altar contains Guglielmo Caccia's image of Saint Lucy with Saints Crispin and Crispinian, while the high altar holds a San Sebastiano by Giovan Francesco Caroto. The church is a single-room Baroque space, paired in the square with the brick civic tower.

Context and history

A church stood on the site by the twelfth century as one of the city's older parishes. The present building was constructed in the seventeenth century to a design by Sebastiano Guala and consecrated in 1661. Pier Francesco Guala painted the cycle of tondi around 1757, while the altarpiece by Il Moncalvo connects the church with an earlier period of local painting. Work on the façade began in 1787 and continued into the late nineteenth century.