ST. STEPHEN CHURCH
This is among the oldest buildings in the Municipality of Bazzano. The Church was
first mentioned in 789; the oldest preserved artifact, a fragment of the stone portal
from Lombard or Carolinian origin, probably comes from the same period. The Castle
also contains a capital on a column attributed to the Romanesque period. The current
building has undergone a long series of modifications (the façade was reconstructed
after having been bombarded in the autumn of 1944). Originally the church was designed
in a single nave structure, perpendicular to the current one, with its apse located
at the site of the present entrance. This orientation was modified during the 16th
and 17th centuries, when the entire Castle was being remodeled. The bell tower, recently
restructured, dates to the 18th century. Inside are found numerous great works of
art, such as the altarpiece of Saint Stephen painted by Simone Cantarini, some canvases
by Gaetano Gandolfi, whose hand also contributed some of the paintings making up the
lovely Via Crucis, works by Crespi, by Alessando Calvi and many others (such as The
Death of St. Joseph; St.Lucia) and a beautiful wooden statue of the Madonna of Peace.
The church is also a prelature.