Temple of Santo Stefano della Vittoria
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The Temple of Santo Stefano della Vittoria is a holy building located in Pozzo della Chiana, which is a small village near Foiano della Chiana in the province of Arezzo.
The temple
The small temple is dedicated to Victoria, who is the personified goddess of victory and the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Nike. The temple was built by Grand Duchy of Tuscany Cosimo I de Medici on the plain of Scannagallo, where (in 1554) the troops of the Imperial Coalition defeated the French-Senese troops in the Battle of Scannagallo, during the War of Siena.
The construction of the temple is traditionally attributed to the Italian architect and sculptor Bartolommeo Ammannati, but has recently been linked to the professional collaboration between two Italian artists, Ammannati himself and Giorgio Vasari. It was built in 1569 on the form of an octagonal planimetry with a typically Florentine apse, and it also includes a series of ancient ornaments.
The use of Doric order is in line with the latest European art style of Mannerism. It also articulates the exterior columns of the temple.
The frontal pediment contains the House of Medici coat of arms, and it also contains the Latin script of the new family title.
Inside the temple, above the door, you can see the Gianfigliazzi family coat of arms. On the walls, there are two Latin epigraphs dedicated to the institution Ordine dei Cavalieri di Santo Stefano, founded in Pisa in 1561 by the Duke (already Grand Master), with the purpose of protecting the Tyrrhenian Sea from Barbary pirates,[1] to whom the temple was previously donated.[2]
In 1565 the Cavalieri di Santo Stefano Galleys participated in an expedition to defend Malta.
In 1571, Venice suffered a serious defeat, due to the loss of Cipro, that was occupied by Turks. Pope Pio V established a difficult alliance involving the major European maritime powers, creating the Holy League,[3] in order to deal with the danger of the Turks´ expansion along the coast and islands of Western Europe. Spanish, Venetian and Genoese Galleys, as well as the pontifical naval fleet formed the League, led by the Admiral Don John of Austria. The pontifical naval fleet, captained by Marcantonio Colonna, was composed of galleys armed by the Tuscan Signoria,[4] crewed by Cavalieri di Santo Stefano.
See also
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