Stefano Arteaga (born Esteban de Arteaga y López; December 26, 1747 - September 30, 1799)[1] was a Spanish-born writer on theater and music, active in Italy.
Arteaga was a young man, already a Jesuit priest, when the suppression of the order in Spain, forced him into exile. He went to Italy and became a member of the Academy of Padua. He afterwards resided at Bologna, hosted by Cardinal Albergati, and there made the acquaintance of Padre Martini, at whose instance he investigated the rise and progress of the Italian stage. His work, entitled Rivoluzioni del teatro musicale Italiano, dalla suo origine fine al presente, (two vols., 1783), is an important source for the history of music. A second edition, in three volumes, appeared at Venice in 1785. He also left behind him a manuscript treatise on the rhythm of the ancients. Arteaga died in Paris.[2]