The San Paolo Maggiore church was erased between 1606 and 1611 according to the will of the Regular Clergies of S. Paolo, Barnabites. It was built on the design of the brother architect Ambrogio Mazenta and in 1634-1636 the church was enriched with a graceful facade made by Ercole Fichi. Remarkable is the view of the interior brightened up with a splendid pictorial decoration of Antonio e Giuseppe Rolli who reproduced, towards the end of the 17th century, the deeds of S. Paolo in the Areopagus of Athen. On the altars shine precious paintings made by masters of the Bolognese school such as Guercino, Giuseppe Maria Crespi -called "the Spanish"- and Lodovico Carracci who painted the famous "Paradiso" ("Paradise").

Extraordinary beautiful is the sumptuous high altar (1643-1650) where you can admire the vigorous sculptor group of the "Decollazione di S. Paolo" ("Decollation of St Paul") created by Alessandro Algardi who made also the medallion of the frontal and the tabernacle.

The description is taken from the diocesan administration web site: Curia Arcivescovile