Torre di Santo Stefano

History

Santo Stefano Tower is a Romanesque bell tower, the only surviving part of the lost abbey complex of Santo Stefano, founded by Benedictine monks from Fruttuaria Abbey in 1041 at the behest of Bishop Henry II. The abbey was likely established to address the need to reclaim the marshy left bank of the Dora Baltea river and to ensure surveillance at this strategic point of the city by creating a solid defensive structure with its sturdy walls. The Benedictine monks built the abbey's structures on the site of an ancient chapel dedicated to Saint Stephen, possibly dating back to the 5th century, using bricks and repurposed materials of probable Roman origin.