The Pieve di Santo Stefano in Sorano, located in Filattiera in the heart of Lunigiana, is a solitary church built of river pebbles that has long served as a reference point for pilgrims traveling the Via Francigena. In addition to its religious function, the Pieve is an archaeological site of great interest, bearing witness to the peoples who have inhabited the region since ancient times.
Originally a place of worship dating back to prehistoric times, the church preserves a female Stele Statue, which was used as building material and is now embedded in the presbytery step in the right aisle. The surrounding area once housed a Roman farm, likely inhabited by the Gens Suria in the 1st century BC, and was later occupied in the 7th century by the Kastron Sereon, a Byzantine military garrison.
The church also preserves the memory of Leodgar—a bishop or Lombard gastald—who contributed to the Christianization of Lunigiana by destroying stone idols and founding places of hospitality. The church was mentioned in the 10th century by Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, on his return journey from Rome. Despite its later isolation in the valley floor—following the fortification of the hill behind the town and the construction of the Church of San Giorgio between the 12th and 13th centuries—Santo Stefano di Sorano has maintained its religious functions.
Despite partial collapse in the 1990s, careful restoration work has revived this building of great historical value. The church features three naves supported by circular pillars, and next to it stands a low, squat bell tower resembling a watchtower. The apses, with pilasters and hanging arches, reveal architectural influences from northern Italy, as seen in many other buildings across Lunigiana.
