Chiesa di Santo Stefano al Ponte Vecchio

 

 

The church dates to at least 1116, and presents a Romanesque façade whose lower half is older, with simple doors bordered by architraves, and arches. The main entrance, which has a two-coloured stone moulding, is late 13th century. The church was badly damaged during the Second World War, and again by the 1966 flood.

The interior is rectangular, and originally had three aisles, which were merged into a single nave by F. Tacca between 1649 and 1655. The roof has exposed trellis-beams that are at two different elevations. The church has now been deconsecrated, and hosts the Orchestra Regionale Toscana.

The front half of the church has altars from the 1500s, while the back half is architecturally subdivided into two orders that open towards the presbytery, which is proceeded by an interesting marble staircase with balustrades of a kind Bernardo Buontalenti had already placed in the Santa Trinita.