Attractions

Montopoli | Parish Church of Saints Stefano and Giovanni

A chapel dedicated to St Stephen is attested as early as 1195, while in 1260 a church was in turn dependent on a pieve in the diocese of Lucca. We know that the current parish church was restored in 1534 after being damaged by various armies, including that of Charles V.

The exterior shows some decorated terracotta arches, while the mighty brick bell tower stands out at the back. The interior has a single nave with two chapels on either side and stone side altars. There is a striking ceiling decorated in the post-war period by Gajoni depicting the Glorification of the Two Saints. The high altar in pietra serena is contemporary with the presbytery balustrade and the stone altar along the right wall, where the painting Original Sin by Jacopo Vignali is located. Along the left wall, on the other hand, is the splendid panel painting The Annunciation and the Eternal of 1526 by Giovanni Larciani. On the first altar to the left is the fresco of the miraculous image of the Madonna of the Crocetta (1519).

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