Santo Stefano Parish Church
This is one of the oldest parish churches in the Province of Ravenna, in fact the first written evidence of it dates back to the year 977, and an even older origin is not to be ruled out.
It rises like a precious jewel in the middle of the country with its fruit trees and vines. The church displays an imposing façade in the typical basilica-style of the early Middle Ages architecture.
Next to the entry there is a roman mile stone which is the evidence that there was an important street passing through that point and that the area was inhabited at that time.
A record of the Middle Ages is inserted in the outside wall, it is a fragment of a "Roadside Cross"with a blessing hand and the inscription "Dextera Domini". It must have been an indication for the pilgrims heading for Rome, that a "Hospitium" (a kind of guest quarters) was near.
The church was nearly completely modernised in 1512, after that it was rebuilt and re-consecrated in 1527, and both the tablets on the external façade and on the apse are an evidence of it.
The last important restoration works in early 1900 returned the parishoners the sober inner space divided into three naves which give an atmosphere of particular concentration and suggestion.
Where: Via Crociarone 12 , Pisignano
Opening: yearly
Admission: free
Official Tourist Information Site of Cervia