The first certain news of the church comes from a bull that Pope Urban III had sent in Vicenza to Bishop Pastore, in the year 1186. The chapel of S. Stefano was one of the seven chapels of the city led by seven chaplains dependent on the chapter of the cathedral.
In 1459 the church, appearing now dilapidated, was demolished with the loss of all the works contained; in the same place a new church was built which was soon enriched with side chapels thanks also to bequests from important families such as the Pagello, the Sex and the Capra families. Thanks to its possessions, the church was autonomous until 1595, when the parish priest Don Girolamo Pisani renounced his right in favor of the religious order founded by Gaetano Thiene. At the end of 1600 the church of S. Stefano, the most important in the city, was insufficient to accommodate the large number of faithful. It was decided to rebuild it. The Theatine architect Guarino Guarini was initially commissioned to design a majestic building, moving the main façade onto Corso Andrea Palladio. The municipality did not authorize the move due to the excessive estimated cost. Drawings for a less majestic church were brought from Rome. In the meantime, the Theatines decided to build their own church, abandoning S. Stefano, whose reconstruction began on 25 June 1695 under the direction of the architect Carlo Borella. The enormous expenses and economic difficulties of the municipality prolonged the completion of the work until 1764. The Napoleonic troops, who arrived in Vicenza on May 27, 1797, plundered all the churches; in S. Stefano they stole the famous silver statue of the saint, two large vases and the silver parapet. They were cast into rods and sent to France. In 1895 the great dome was built which made the building the second tallest in the city. The church, clearly inspired by the Roman Baroque, has a beautiful facade in Vicenza stone. The city's coat of arms is visible in the center of the broken tympanum. Five statues adorn the facade: the saints Stefano, Vincenzo and Gaetano and the representation of justice and wisdom. The interior has a single nave with marble walls. Four huge arches support the great dome. On the walls of the presbytery there are large paintings, the work of Maffei and Maganza, Palma il Vecchio, Tintoretto, Arrigoni and Chiesa. The tabernacle is decorated with three important wooden tables by Giandomenico Tiepolo. Adriano Bevilacqua