Chiesa di Santo Stefano

The small church of Santo Stefano in Anghiari preserves an early medieval structure associated with Byzantine and Ravennate building traditions. Its brick fabric and Quattrocento altarpiece show how the church developed across several centuries.

Why it matters

Santo Stefano reaches back to the seventh or eighth century, centuries before Anghiari's earliest surviving written mention in 1048. Its early Christian architecture places the town within the cultural and political landscape of the upper Tiber valley, between Byzantine and Lombard spheres of influence.

What to notice

The church has a Greek-cross-type plan, three semicircular chapels and closely set small bricks. These features distinguish it from later Tuscan churches built in stone ashlar. The Quattrocento altarpiece of the Madonna and Child with saints by Domenico di Michelino reflects a later layer of Florentine Renaissance patronage.

Context and history

The church's early date and Ravennate architectural features relate it to the seventh- and eighth-century frontier between Byzantine and Lombard territories in the upper Tiber valley. It predates the parchment of 1048 that first names Anghiari and the fortifications built in later centuries. Its fifteenth-century altarpiece records a later period of artistic exchange with Florence.