Santo Stefano al Ponte is a Romanesque-style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

church, located in the Piazza of the same name, just off the Via Por Santa Maria, near the

Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", ) is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the Second World War, it is noted for the shops bui ...

, in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, region of Tuscany,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The church is presently used as a concert hall.

History

The church was originally constructed in the 11th and 12th century in a Romanesque style with a polychrome marble facade. The interior featured three aisles. In the 14th century, the exterior was renovated. Of the original facade, only the marble work around the portal remains. Between 1631 and 1655, the interior of the church was renovated to convert the three aisles to an open hall. A crypt was added and the interior was redesigned to include a choir. In 1373, the church was temporarily used by

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...

to deliver lectures on the

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

. The annexed

diocesan museum A diocesan museum is a museum for an ecclesiastical diocese, a geographically-based division of the Christian Church. Austria: * Diocesan Museum, Graz, Styria * Gurk Treasury, Carinthia * Diocesan Museum, Linz, Upper Austria * Cathedral Muse ...

houses a panel with a ''Madonna'' by

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. ...

. Inside the church are artworks by

Matteo Rosselli Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter-Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first appre ...

(''Vision of San Lorenzo'');

Niccolò Lapi Niccolò Lapi (Florence, c. 1667–1732) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Tuscany. He is described as a follower of Giordano,Giottino Giottino (fl. 1324 – 1369), also known as Tommaso Fiorentino, was an early Italian painter from Florence. His real name was Maso di Stefano or Tommaso di Stefano. Giottino's father, Maestro Stefano Fiorentino, "Stefano the Florentine", wa ...

;

Mariotto di Nardo Mariotto di Nardo di Cione (''fl''. 1388–1424) was a Florentine painter in the Florentine Gothic style. He worked at the Duomo of Florence, the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, and the Orsanmichele. He created both frescoes and panel pa ...

;

Ferdinando Tacca Ferdinando Tacca (1619–1686) was an Italian sculptor and architect, active during the Baroque period in Florence. Biography He was the son of Pietro Tacca, a sculptor active for the Medici in Florence. After Pietro's death in 1640, Ferdina ...

(bronze bas-relief of ''Martyrdom of San Stefano'', 1656);

Francesco Bianchi Buonavita Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

;

Cigoli Lodovico Cardi (21 September 1559 – 8 June 1613), also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years ...

(Copy of

Santi di Tito Santi di Tito (5 December 1536 – 25 July 1603) was one of the most influential and leading Italian painters of the proto- Baroque style – what is sometimes referred to as "Counter-Maniera" or Counter-Mannerism. Biography He was born in Flo ...

's ''Deposition'');

Francesco Curradi Francesco Curradi or Currado (15 November 1570 – 1661) was an Italian painter of the style described as Counter-''Maniera'' or Counter-Mannerism, born and active in Florence. Biography Curradi was the son of a jeweller, Taddeo. He trained und ...

(''Death of Santa Cecilia before Urban I'', 1641);

Francesco Morosini Francesco Morosini (26 February 1619 – 16 January 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was one of the many Doges and generals produced by the noble Venetian family of Morosini.Encyclopædi ...

(''St Paul on Road to Tarsus'');

Mauro Soderini Mauro Soderini (1704 – after 1739/1751) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period, mainly painting sacred subjects and active in his native Florence. He studied in Bologna and Rome. In Florence he worked with Vincenzo Meucci and Giovan ...

(''St Zanobi resuscitates a child'', 1745), and

(''Madonna and Saints'', after 1585).

References

External links

Stefano al Ponte Romanesque architecture in Florence 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Italy-church-stub