Sunday, March 9, 2014

Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri

The Order of Saint Stephen was created by Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, with the objective of fighting the Ottoman Turks and the pirates that sailed Mediterranean Sea in the 16th century. The monument to Ferdinando I de' Medici in Livorno, better known as the Quattro Mori (Four Moors), celebrates the victories of the Order, with the Grand Duke himself dressed as its Grand Master.
Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, Pisa
Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri is a church in Pisa, in Piazza dei Cavalieri (Knight's Square), on the right side of the Palazzo della Carovana, the headquarters of the Knights. It was built between 1565 and 1569 as the church of the Order, on a project by Giorgio Vasari.
Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, Pisa
The bell-tower, also designed by Vasari, was completed by 1572 by Giovanni Fancelli.

External links: Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri - Order of Saint Stephen - Knight's Square - Palazzo della Carovana (Wikipedia)
See also: Four Moors

7 comments:

Randy said...

Such a beautiful church.

Jack said...

I have seen somewhat similar churches all over northern Italy. Beautiful!

Dina said...

Grand Master, knights, pirates--exciting history!
So old yet looking so well preserved.
I like the wall anchors helping to hold the tower together.

Birdman said...

Nice image for a Sunday.

cieldequimper said...

Classic beauty. I wish I could hear the bells.

Luis Gomez said...

Beautiful post VP. Thank you for the images and all the info. Have a great week.

Unknown said...

WOW! Absolutely gorgeous façade!