Caorle Cathedral, Romanesque cathedral in Caorle, Italy

Caorle Cathedral is a Romanesque church in the center of Caorle, a small coastal town in northeastern Italy. Its freestanding cylindrical bell tower, topped with a conical roof of dark bricks, rises clearly above the surrounding rooftops and can be seen from the square in front of the church.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1038, at a time when the Adriatic coast was closely connected to Byzantine trade routes and cultural exchange. The building reflects this connection through the mix of Romanesque structure and Byzantine-Ravennate decorative elements that can still be seen today.

The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen Protomartyr, not to a local patron; its former diocese was suppressed under Napoleon and the last bishop, Giuseppe Maria Peruzzi, moved to Chioggia in 1809. The parish still marks the dedication on 30 August, the date of the 1665 reconsecration by Bishop Pietro Martire Rusca, who placed twelve terracotta crosses in memory of the rite.

The west-facing facade opens onto Piazza Vescovado, where white stones trace the perimeter of the demolished church of the Madonna delle Grazie, uncovered during the square's 1999 restoration. The three entrance portals are topped by marble architraves, the central one bearing a Latin inscription; two Byzantine bas-reliefs with Greek inscriptions flank it. The interior is reached on flat ground, with the presbytery raised three steps above the nave floor.

The two Byzantine bas-reliefs flanking the main portal carry Greek inscriptions; a recent study links them to the Fourth Crusade of 1204 and identifies Saint Agathonikos of Bithynia and Saint George. They may have arrived with relics such as the skull and hand of Saint Stephen and the hand of Saint Margaret of Antioch.