Description
Mass is no longer said in the Church of Santo Stefano alla Lizza, on the corner of Via dei Gazzani and Piazza della Lizza in Siena: the deconsecrated church has become the concert hall of Italian Opera Siena, a stone's throw from the Lizza gardens.
The classical-style facade is brick, partly plastered: a flight of steps leads up to the portal with its pediment, four pilasters divide it, and at the top a pediment with an oculus closes it off. Inside there is a single hall with an apse.
The church is already mentioned at the end of the 12th century, but nothing Romanesque is left: it was rebuilt between 1671 and 1675. Its name comes from Piazza della Lizza, which in the late 16th century hosted tournaments and horseback drills; the public gardens arrived in 1779.
The most precious works are elsewhere: the large polyptych by Andrea Vanni, which once dominated the apse, is kept in the Baptistery of Siena.
The classical-style facade is brick, partly plastered: a flight of steps leads up to the portal with its pediment, four pilasters divide it, and at the top a pediment with an oculus closes it off. Inside there is a single hall with an apse.
The church is already mentioned at the end of the 12th century, but nothing Romanesque is left: it was rebuilt between 1671 and 1675. Its name comes from Piazza della Lizza, which in the late 16th century hosted tournaments and horseback drills; the public gardens arrived in 1779.
The most precious works are elsewhere: the large polyptych by Andrea Vanni, which once dominated the apse, is kept in the Baptistery of Siena.