Church of Saint Stephen in Serravalle Pistoiese

The foundation of the Church of Saint Stephen in Serravalle Pistoiese dates back to the early 13th century. The interior, with a single nave, has been remodeled several times since the fire of 1501.

Here we can admire the stucco and papier-mâché statue of St. Louis of Toulouse, patron saint of the village: since the 17th century, every year on August 19, the sculpture has been carried in procession through the streets of the village on the occasion of the patron saint holiday. In the niches along the nave we find sculptures of St. Anthony the Abbot and St. Louis, made in glazed terracotta by the Buglioni studio. The patron saint is depicted in bishop’s robes in the act of holding a model of the village in his hand: according to tradition, in fact, St. Louis is said to have saved the besieged village in 1306 from the army of Lucca by appearing on the castle’s battlements, shrouded in a luminous cloud and holding a flaming sword.

The Church of St. Stephen knew three lay confraternities, which arose with the spread of religious associationism in the Serravalle area and the phenomenon of spiritual pilgrimage along the Way of St. Jacopo and the Romea Strata. The oldest confraternity is the Confraternity of the Assumption of the Virgin with headquarters at the oratory of the same name dating back to the late 14th century. The Confraternity of St. Sebastian and St. Roch, whose location is unknown, and that of the Blessed Sacrament, founded in 1590, also stood near the church.