In the heart of Isola della Scala, in the province of Verona, stands one of the oldest and most representative religious complexes in the Verona area: the Abbey of Saints Stephen and James, also known as the Parish Church. Its origins go back to the 10th-11th centuries, when the parish church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr was built in the area then called Insula Cenensis. The first documentary mention dates back to 1074, testifying to the presence of a priestly college and a school for clerics.

Over time, the church acquired great religious as well as economic importance, with tithe rights and a substantial landed estate. In 1578, due to the precarious structural condition of the old parish church, the foundation stone of the new building was laid. The project was entrusted to Bernardino Brugnoli, nephew of Michele Sanmicheli, and the masters Battista da Lavagno and Santo Cogino. Work took a long time and was marked by economic difficulties, but the new abbey was completed and consecrated on July 25, 1619, the day dedicated to St. James, co-owner of the church and patron of the town.

The present building, made entirely of terracotta and facing west, has a wide single nave (over 51 meters long by 21 meters wide and 15 meters high). Inside, eight altars line the walls, each with works of art of considerable value: most notable are Giolfino’s canvas at the altar of St. Lawrence, Sante Prunati’s altarpiece at the altar of St. Joseph, and the 16th-century wooden Crucifix on the altar of the same name.

The choir houses three important canvases by Felice Brusasorci, depicting the martyrdom of St. Stephen. The High Altar, made of marble in 1717, is flanked by the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and a 17th-century pulpit carved with scenes from the saint’s life. Above the entrance door stands a lunette with an image of St. Stephen by Giuseppe Bevilacqua.

Also of great historical value is the 19th-century Via Crucis by painter Paolo Brenzoni and the monumental three-manual organ by the Ruffatti brothers of Padua. The bell tower houses a concert of five bells, while numerous tombstones and commemorative inscriptions have been relocated along the walls, including one commemorating the passage of Princess Margaret of Austria in 1598.

Next to the abbey is the Oratory of St. Vincent Ferreri, while the history of the complex also includes the presence of the Monte di Pietà, active from 1524 to 1949. Between 1997 and 2003, a massive restoration restored splendor to the interior frescoes.

Today, the Abbey of Sts. Stephen and James is not only a place of worship but an authentic treasure chest of art, memory and spirituality, witness to a centuries-old religious tradition deeply intertwined with the history of the island community.