Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri (Pisa)
| Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri | |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Pisa, Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | Coordinates: 43°43′09.57″N 10°24′03.43″E / 43.7193250°N 10.4009528°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Province | Pisa |
| Country | Italy |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Giorgio Vasari, Pasquale Poccianti, Gaetano Niccoli |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Mannerism |
| Groundbreaking | 1565 |
| Completed | 1859 |
Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri is a church in central Pisa located on Piazza dei Cavalieri (Knight's Square).
Construction began on 17 April 1565 in order to build a church for the Order of Knights of St Stephan, founded by the Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici to fight Saracen piracy in the Mediterranean. The project with designs and oversight by Giorgio Vasari and David Fortini was to build a church on the site of an older church called San Sebastiano alle Fabbriche Maggiori, which dated at least to 1074. The new church on the site was consecrated by 21 December 1569. The facade, in white marble was designed by Don Giovanni de' Medici, illegitimate son of Cosimo I, with the help of Alessandro Pieroni; their designs were chosen over Vasari’s original plan. An inscription commemorates completion during the reign of Ferdinando I de' Medici.
The bell-tower, also designed by Vasari, was completed by 1572 by Giovanni Fancelli. The main altar designs were by Pier Francesco Silvani. Many alterations and additions were proposed and made over the next two centuries, including plans by Gherardo Mechini, Paolo Guidotti, Ranieri Gherardi, Torpè Donati, Alessandro Gherardesca, Florido Galli, Niccolò Matas, and Pasquale Poccianti. The final reconstruction in 1859, completed after the suppression of the order, creates the clearer interior systematization of columns we see today.
The church display numerous trophy banners, captured during naval encounters with Saracen pirates. The font for holy water (1568) was sculpted by Giovanni Fancelli, based on designs by Vasari.
In the counterfacade are five monochrome paintings of Stories of St Stefano Pope and Martyr, including one celebrating the entrance of Ferdinando I on 31 March 1588. This grand-duke was to commission the wooden ceiling by Bartolomeo Atticciati (1604).
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