Description
The Abbey of Santo Stefano is an ancient Benedictine abbey at Carrara Santo Stefano, in the scattered municipality of Due Carrare, in the province of Padua. Of the monastery the church and bell tower remain, but its history is tied to that of the Carraresi, who became lords of the city.
The building faces a small square with a curious detail: the plan of the cloister, now vanished, is traced on the paving, so you can see how large the monastery was. The parish house, once part of the abbey, looks onto the square.
To the south the church is flanked by the walls of the old cemetery, once in a state of great neglect. Inside, on the north wall, is the marble ark of Marsilio da Carrara: he was buried there in 1338, having been lord of Padua.
Marsilio had first married Bartolomea, of the family of Enrico Scrovegni, the patron of the Scrovegni Chapel. It is one of the threads that tie together the places of Padua and its surroundings.
To know why it stands here, you have to go back to Litolfo da Carrara. Around 1027 his donation gave life to the monastery, which his descendants filled with possessions: within a few years it came to own a quarter of the family's wealth. The first monks perhaps came from the abbey of Brondolo.
But the bond with the family soured. In 1164 the Carraresi stayed loyal to Frederick Barbarossa in the war against the communes. The abbey risked being razed to the ground and saved itself by submitting to the bishop, while the Carraresi fled.
From then on the abbots saw in the founders overbearing nobles, with their castle a few hundred meters away. For centuries the abbey was fought over between the Carraresi and the bishop, with bulls, edicts and, when needed, force.
The monks even tried a clever plan: gradually moving the abbot to Padua, turning the city house of San Giorgio into the main seat. Nothing came of it.
With the lordship of the Carraresi, from 1318, the conflicts died down. The abbot of Santo Stefano became vice-chancellor of the University of Padua, right after the bishop. The end came with Venice: in 1405 the abbey was given as a reward to the archpriest of Cittadella, in return for his betrayal, and was stripped. The monastery was then dismantled to make room for corn.
Don't miss
• The ark of Marsilio da Carrara.
• The plan of the cloister on the square.
Did you know?
• The monastic community was small: from ten to twenty monks, a fraction of that of Santa Giustina.
The building faces a small square with a curious detail: the plan of the cloister, now vanished, is traced on the paving, so you can see how large the monastery was. The parish house, once part of the abbey, looks onto the square.
To the south the church is flanked by the walls of the old cemetery, once in a state of great neglect. Inside, on the north wall, is the marble ark of Marsilio da Carrara: he was buried there in 1338, having been lord of Padua.
Marsilio had first married Bartolomea, of the family of Enrico Scrovegni, the patron of the Scrovegni Chapel. It is one of the threads that tie together the places of Padua and its surroundings.
To know why it stands here, you have to go back to Litolfo da Carrara. Around 1027 his donation gave life to the monastery, which his descendants filled with possessions: within a few years it came to own a quarter of the family's wealth. The first monks perhaps came from the abbey of Brondolo.
But the bond with the family soured. In 1164 the Carraresi stayed loyal to Frederick Barbarossa in the war against the communes. The abbey risked being razed to the ground and saved itself by submitting to the bishop, while the Carraresi fled.
From then on the abbots saw in the founders overbearing nobles, with their castle a few hundred meters away. For centuries the abbey was fought over between the Carraresi and the bishop, with bulls, edicts and, when needed, force.
The monks even tried a clever plan: gradually moving the abbot to Padua, turning the city house of San Giorgio into the main seat. Nothing came of it.
With the lordship of the Carraresi, from 1318, the conflicts died down. The abbot of Santo Stefano became vice-chancellor of the University of Padua, right after the bishop. The end came with Venice: in 1405 the abbey was given as a reward to the archpriest of Cittadella, in return for his betrayal, and was stripped. The monastery was then dismantled to make room for corn.
Don't miss
• The ark of Marsilio da Carrara.
• The plan of the cloister on the square.
Did you know?
• The monastic community was small: from ten to twenty monks, a fraction of that of Santa Giustina.