Santo Stefano Maggiore

Santo Stefano Maggiore stands in the heart of Milan as a historic church with roots reaching back to the fifth century. Its Romanesque reconstruction features semicircular arches, sturdy forms, and large towers that give the building a medieval appearance.

Martiniano Osio founded the original church around 417 on a site associated with the relics of four Christian martyrs. Fire destroyed it in 1070, and builders completed the Romanesque reconstruction by 1075. The dedication changed from Saint Zechariah to Saint Stephen in the tenth century, while later work added the Trivulzio family chapel in 1531, Baroque alterations in the seventeenth century, and a new sacristy in the eighteenth. Inside, remains linked to Martiniano Osio and other archbishops of Milan preserve the church’s religious history.

The atrium witnessed the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza during Saint Stephen’s celebrations in 1476, commemorated by a plaque. Caravaggio was baptised here on 30 September 1571, a connection identified in 2007.