- Time Period: Pre World War I
- Institution: 1 October 1561
- Country: Italy (Grand Duchy of Tuscany)
The Order of Saint Stephen (or “Sacro Militare Ordine di Santo Stefano Papa e Martire”, “Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr“) is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order is dedicated to the martyred Pope Stephen I, whose feast day is 2 August – the date that coincides with Cosimo’s victories at the Battle of Montemurlo and the Battle of Marciano (Scannagallo).
The order was created by Cosimo I de’ Medici, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany with the approbation of Pope Pius IV on 1 October 1561. The order was permanently abolished in 1859 by the annexation of Tuscany to the Kingdom of Sardinia, with the last member of the Medici dynasty to be a leader being Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737.
The objective of the order was to fight the Ottoman Turks and the pirates that sailed the Mediterranean Sea in the 16th century. Cosimo needed a symbolic fight to unite the nobility of the different cities that conformed his new grand duchy, as well as to demonstrate his support of the Roman Catholic Church. It was present at the siege of Malta (1565), the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and the capture in 1607 of Annaba in Algeria.
Initially, the Order was financed by the Grand Duke. Later and thanks to prudent purchases of agricultural estates, it increased its heritage by becoming one of the major wheat producers and merchants of Tuscany. Before being enrolled in the Order, three years of novitiate had to be followed, during which notions of geometry, cosmography, arithmetic, drawing, cartography, history and practice of firearms were taught and tested.
Today, Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany awards an Order of Saint Stephen which he claims to be a continuation of the order founded by Grand Duke Cosimo I. Some 80 individuals are currently associated with this order.
The Order of Saint Stephen Design
The badge of the order is shaped like a star, struck in silver with a thin sheet of gold (not gold plated), and decorated with red enamels. It’s surmounted by a golden crown.
The Second Class Star (pictured above) measures 63mm by 64mm.
The ribbon is red.
