In the twelfth century the pieve di Santo Stefano governed a wide territory: the communities of Ponzano, Albiano and Caprigliola and the chapels of Bibola and Burcione all came under its jurisdiction. Very little survives of that early church, a Romanesque foundation known as the pieve of Santo Stefano di Cerreto, because it was built over twice: first by the building documented in 1324, then by the church standing today. What you visit is the third layer on the same spot.
What to see
The final rebuilding is signed by Ferdinando d'Andrea, an architect from Genoa: the fourteenth-century church was pulled down and remade in Genoese Baroque, the works finishing in 1776. Everything changed, starting with the plan: from the single nave of the Lunigiana tradition, one high altar and a vaulted ceiling, as it had been arranged in the fourteenth century under the Republic of Lucca, it moved to a Greek cross with six side chapels, a choir and a dome at the centre.
The three altars are dedicated to Saint Stephen, Saint Felix and the Mother of Consolation. On the high altar stands a statue of the patron by the Carrara sculptor Giovanni Antonio Cybei; the frescoes are by Carlo Morgari. Above the main door, on the inner facade, hangs a suspended organ. The church is listed in the Italian cultural heritage catalogue and remains the parish reference point of the town.
Visiting
The church faces piazza Chiesa, in the centre of Santo Stefano di Magra, a few steps from the main street: you can walk there from anywhere in town and no car is needed. It is a parish church of the Sarzana vicariate, diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato: hours follow the services, and Sunday Mass is the most reliable moment to find the door open and the lights on over the chapels.
Our editors' tip
Our advice is to try to hear it, not only to look at it. The Coro San Leonardo sings here, founded in 1985 by a group of young parishioners: from liturgical repertoire it moved on to Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and Handel, then to gospel, so much so that the American composer Nehemiah Hunter Brown has been an honorary citizen of Santo Stefano di Magra since 2000. A concert under that dome is worth the trip far more than a tour of an empty church.