Stephen was the Prefect of Amalfi from 879 to 898. He was married to a daughter of the first known prefect Marinus.

He succeeded his brother-in-law Pulcharius while the city was under an interdict. In 897, he entered into a war with the Duchy of Sorrento

Duchy of Sorrento

The Duchy of Sorrento was a small peninsular principality of the Early Middle Ages centred on the Italian city of Sorrento.Originally, Sorrento was part of the Byzantine Duchy of Naples in the Dark Ages, but in the ninth century, along with Amalfi and Gaeta, it broke away from the Neapolitans to...

 and that of Naples

Duchy of Naples

The Duchy of Naples began as a Byzantine province that was constituted in the seventh century, in the reduced coastal lands that the Lombards had not conquered during their invasion of Italy in the sixth century...

. He was captured by the Sorrentines, but ransomed, and died soon after. He was succeeded by Manso

Manso, Prefect of Amalfi

Manso I or II was the Prefect of Amalfi from 898 to 914.He succeeded, or may have deposed, Stephen, a relative of the first ruling family, and to whom he was unrelated. In 900, he associated his son Mastalus with him, following a practice that was to become widespread in the Mezzogiorno...

, of an unrelated clan.