Santo Stefano Tower

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Santo Stefano Tower, or Torre di Santo Stefano, is a medieval Romanesque bell tower in Ivrea, Italy. It is the only surviving part of the old Santo Stefano abbey, founded in 1041 by Benedictine monks from Fruttuaria Abbey at the request of Bishop Henry II. The abbey was built to reclaim the marshy left bank of the Dora Baltea river and to guard this strategic part of the city with strong walls. The abbey’s buildings were constructed on the site of an ancient chapel dedicated to Saint Stephen, probably dating back to the 5th century, using bricks and reused materials from Roman times.