Have you sometimes come across 'San Stefano' as well as 'Santo Stefano'? As far as I can make out, San Stefano is Venetian, and Santo Stefano is Italian. The reason for 'Santo' is that 'Stefano' begins with 's-impura', i.e. 's' followed by a consonant, which also calls for slight differences in the definite article in Italian. I don't know how a letter can be impure.
On the subject of saints, have you ever thought it odd that they seem to have a Saint Cross (Santa Croce), a Saint Trinity (Santa Ternità or Trinità), or a Saint Moses (San Moisè) in Venice (and elsewhere in Italy, I would suppose). When we use the word 'Saint' in English we think of it as applying to a person who died after the time of Christ. But if you think of 'San', Santa' and 'Santo' as meaning 'holy' or 'sacred', then Holy Cross and Holy Trinity and even Holy Moses do not seem so strange.
P.S. Did you notice the previous two photos were posted exactly 12 hours apart?
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