the museums - santo stefano

The church of Santo Stefano was my family's parish church. It was the church were I was confirmed. It was the church where as a boy I carried a tall black cross during the Stations of the Cross. It is the chuch on whose grounds we played soccer. Franco Ciacco and I remember it as a big playground. There was a time when this small space was our world. In memory this is the church of the Christmas bonfire that my dad took me to. I got to sit on his shoulders as we went to the Christmas Eve lighting. This is the church with the mural of Stephen being stoned outside the wall of Jerusalem. This is the church with the statue of the Desolata, my favorite Mary incarnation. The church rivaled San Leonardo for beauty and elegance. And on top of the hill it commanded a view that San Leonardo could not match.

Over the last 50 years Santo Stefano has deteriorated. The parish at the top of the mountain lost its luster when my parents' generation left for "America." In the 60's and 70's its empty hilltop became the address for the public housing that was brought into Aprigliano. Today, Santo Stafano is a shadow of its former self, but it seems to be attracting young families who are willing to renovate the old houses abandoned by those who rushed off to 'America' all those years ago.
(The thumbnail points to the large image.)