The church of Santo Stefano in Candia was build in the XI or XII century. Along with the duomo and the Fruttuaria abbey, it constitutes one of the main testimonies of Romanesque architecture in the Canavese area.
Placed on the top of hill overlooking the town residential area, in a panoramic position from which it dominates the Canavese Morainic basin, has been subject to significant changes throughout the centuries. The first documental information regarding the church date back to 1177, thanks to a bull written when the church and the adjacent priory became property of the canonical of the Ospiziodei Santi Nicolao and Bernardo di Monte Giove (Gran San Bernardo) The establishment date most likely is even earlier, probably in the XI century, at least for the most antique portions, such as the central area of the facade, that rested against a bell tower that has since then been lost, placed on the side compared to the entrance. The hypothesis is that on the hill dedicated to it there were already remains of early-Christian and even Roman buildings. Inside the church the three naves are divide by walls with arches sustained by robust quadrangular cross section pillars. At the end of the central nave, using a stone staircase with thirteen steps, you can access the elevated presbytery. Maybe the most suggestive part of the church is the crypt, located under the presbytery and most likely dating back to the period when the central apse was rebuilt. It is held up by thin stone columns with used capitals, most likely coming from the primitive parish church of Candia or the related Baptistry.