Chiesa di Santo Stefano Protomartire

Santo Stefano Protomartire preserves Malcesine's long parish history within an eighteenth-century church. Its paintings and the veneration of Saints Benigno and Caro link the later building with an older religious foundation.

Why it matters

The church's origins are traced to an eighth-century pieve. The cult of the hermit saints became an important part of local devotion, while the Olivetan congregation's custody shaped the early-modern history of the site.

What to notice

A single nave is flanked by three chapels on each side. Girolamo dai Libri's Deposition was transferred here from Santa Maria in Organo in Verona in 1719. The altar associated with Saints Benigno and Caro includes a painting by Felice Boscaratti and their relic urn. Eighteenth-century and early-twentieth-century ceiling decoration adds further artistic phases.

Context and history

Olivetan custody began in 1563 and continued until 1769. Rebuilding of the older church began in 1729 under Prior Mauro Gilardi. The high altar dates from 1766, while the saints' altar belongs to 1769. Nineteenth-century work reshaped the façade, extending the architectural history beyond the main Baroque campaign.