Pieve San Stefano in Cennano

This Pieve, of paleo-Christian origin, arose around the center of what was a Roman settlement, a "vicus". It was situated in an uncivilized area, a part of the greater municipality of Roman Arezzo. It was built on the foundations of a former pagan temple. It is sited along an Etruscan-Roman road leading from Chiusi towards Chianti and Fiesole. The structure already existed in the 4th century, (perhaps consecrated by Saint Donato, second Bishop of Arezzo, who was an evangelizer in this area) as a "baptismal church" when civilized laws advanced into this rural district of plebians. But it was documented for the first time in a decree of Luitprando in 715, which is preserved in the archives of the church in Arezzo. As part of a group of 19 Pievi, it was the object of a famous dispute between the Bishops of Siena and Arezzo, over the question of to whom they belonged, which went on until 1220. Of the 19 ancient baptismal churches, Cennano and Corsignano are the only ones which have retained any integrity, while the others either no longer exist or have been radically altered.

From the point of view of history, the Pieve was very important starting from the 7th and 8th centuries till the end of the 14th century, when it was under the same the ecclesiastical and civil jurisdiction as Chiese di S. Flora in Montisi, S. Pietro in Petroio, S. Guisto in Castelmuzio and the Monastery of the Pilgrim in Passeno, near Castelmuzio. This monastery had been founded in the 7th century (653-661) by a Longobardian lord named "Ursus Ariman", and was located close to an alternate route of the Roman via Francigena. The 16th century marked the beginning of its decline; Castelmuzio was growing as its castle was fortified, and the Church of Santa Maria took over those functions which had remained at the Pieve. The church(s) kept on performing (some) ecclesiastical functions in the immediate area until 1723.