The Temple of Santo Stefano della Vittoria (in Italian, Tempio di Santa Maria alla Vittoria) is a small chapel-church located in Pozzo della Chiana, a small hamlet near Foiano della Chiana in the province of Arezzo. The octagonal domed structure looms over the plain of Scannagallo, and was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici to commemorate his victory in 1554 over the forces of Siena.
The temple was commissioned by Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici just above the plain of Scannagallo, where in 1554 the troops of the Imperial Coalition (both Florentine and Spanish manned or funded troops) decisively defeated the French-Senese troops in the Battle of Scannagallo, finalizing the conflicts between Florence and Siena. This outcome led to the surrender and cession of besieged Siena to Florence, and leading to its induction into the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany. The temple is dedicated to Saint Stephen of Hungary, whose patron day falls on the day of the battle. The small centralized plan recalls other votive churches, such as Santa Maria della Peste and the Tempietto by Bramante at San Pietro in Montorio. The structure resembles a domed tower, augmenting its visibility, and recalls the high dome of the Cathedral of Florence and the Cappella dei Principi.
The construction of the temple is traditionally attributed to the Italian architect and sculptor Bartolommeo Ammannati, but has recently been linked to the professional collaboration between two Italian artists, Ammannati himself and Giorgio Vasari. It was built in 1569-1570 as an octagon with a typically Florentine apse, and it also includes a series of ancient ornaments. The use of Doric order is in line with the latest European art style of Mannerism. It also articulates the exterior columns of the temple. The walls are made of brick and exterior columns in a pietra serena. [1] [2]
The pediment of the front facade contains the House of Medici coat of arms, and it also contains the Latin script of the new family title. Inside the temple, above the door, you can see the Gianfigliazzi family coat of arms. On the walls, there are two Latin epigraphs dedicated to the institution Ordine dei Cavalieri di Santo Stefano, founded in Pisa in 1561 by the Duke (already Grand Master), with the purpose of protecting the Tyrrhenian Sea from Barbary pirates, [3] to whom the temple was previously donated. [4] The order of Santo Stefano was also named after the date of this victory.
The church is now property of the commune. It received damage from a lightning strike in 1972, and was closed for many years. [5] Plans to reopen the church were underway by 2020.
Bartolomeo Ammannati was an Italian architect and sculptor, born at Settignano, near Florence, Italy. He studied under Baccio Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino and closely imitated the style of Michelangelo.
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 360,930 inhabitants in 2023, and 984,991 in its metropolitan area.
The House of Medici was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici, during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect, who is best known for his work Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, considered the ideological foundation of all art-historical writing, and still much cited in modern biographies of the many Italian Renaissance artists he covers, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, although he is now regarded as including many factual errors, especially when covering artists from before he was born.
The Pazzi were a powerful family in the Republic of Florence. Their main trade during the fifteenth century was banking. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members of the family were banished from Florence and their property was confiscated; the family name and coat-of-arms were permanently suppressed by order of the Signoria.
The Republic of Florence, known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda of Tuscany, who controlled vast territories that included Florence. The Florentines formed a commune in her successors' place. The republic was ruled by a council known as the Signoria of Florence. The signoria was chosen by the gonfaloniere, who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members.
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi was an Italian architect and sculptor. Considered one of the great pioneers of architecture during the Renaissance, Michelozzo was a favored Medici architect who was extensively employed by Cosimo de' Medici. He was a pupil of Lorenzo Ghiberti in his early years, and later collaborated with Donatello.
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's David statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi.
Piazza della Signoria is a w-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio. It is the main point of the origin and history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political focus of the city. It is the meeting place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists, located near Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo and gateway to Uffizi Gallery.
Eleanor of Toledo, born Doña Leonor Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel-Osorio, was a Spanish noblewoman and Duchess of Florence as the first wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. A keen businesswoman, she financed many of her husband's political campaigns and important buildings like the Pitti Palace. She ruled as regent of Florence during his frequent absences: Eleanor ruled during Cosimo's military campaigns in Genoa in 1541 and 1543, his illness from 1544 to 1545, and again at times when the war for the conquest of Siena (1551–1554). She founded many Jesuit churches. She is credited with being the first modern first lady or consort.
Piazza dei Cavalieri is a landmark in Pisa, Italy, and the second main square of the city. This square was the political centre in medieval Pisa. After the middle of 16th century the square became the headquarters of the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen. Now it is a centre of education, being the main house of the Scuola Normale di Pisa, a higher learning institution part of the University.
The House of Strozzi is the name of an ancient Florentine family, who like their great rivals the Medici family, began in banking before moving into politics. Until its exile from Florence in 1434, the Strozzi family was by far the richest in the city, and was rivaled only by the Medici family, who ultimately took control of the government and ruined the Strozzi both financially and politically. This political and financial competition was the origin of the Strozzi-Medici rivalry. Later, while the Medici ruled Florence, the Strozzi family ruled Siena, which Florence attacked, causing great animosity between the two families. Soon afterward, the Strozzi married into the Medici family, essentially giving the Medici superiority.
Foiano della Chiana is a small agricultural town in eastern Tuscany, in the province of Arezzo, between the cities of Sinalunga and Cortona. It is well known for its annual carnival.
The Duchy of Florence was an Italian principality that was centred on the city of Florence, in Tuscany, Italy. The duchy was founded after Pope Clement VII, himself a Medici, appointed his relative Alessandro de' Medici as Duke of the Florentine Republic, thereby transforming the Republic of Florence into a hereditary monarchy.
The Battle of Marciano occurred in the countryside of Marciano della Chiana, near Arezzo, Tuscany, on August 2, 1554, during the Italian War of 1551. The battle marked the defeat of the Republic of Siena in its war against the Duchy of Florence, and resulted in Siena losing its independence and being absorbed into the Duchy of Florence.
Marciano della Chiana is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Florence and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Arezzo.
The Order of Saint Stephen is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order was created by Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany. The last member of the Medici dynasty to be a leader of the order was Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The order was permanently abolished in 1859 by the annexation of Tuscany to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The former Kingdom of Italy and the current Italian Republic also did not recognize the order as a legal entity but tolerates it as a private body.
Giuseppe Nicola Nasini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Rome and Tuscany.
The Fountain of Neptune in Florence, Italy, is situated in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The fountain was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1559 to celebrate the marriage of Francesco de' Medici I to Grand Duchess Joanna of Austria. Cosimo I de' Medici was the Duke of Florence from 1537-1569 and responsible for a vast number of architectural and artistic elements in Florence that still exist today.
Column of Justice is an ancient Roman marble Doric column re-erected by the Florentine Medici dynasty in the Renaissance as a free-standing victory monument with a porphyry statue of Justice at the top. It stands in the Piazza Santa Trinita, in central Florence, Italy.