Chiesa di San Paolo
The church of San Paolo was built in the 10th century and from 1295 was entrusted to the Order of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel. From 1301 onwards, the Carmelites financed the enlargement and embellishment of the building, including the construction of two cloisters in the 14th and 15th centuries. The cloisters, destroyed by fire, were restored as they appear today in the Renaissance period. The Ferrara earthquake of 1570 necessitated the reconstruction of the entire church, with the exception of the right wall adjacent to the cloister, which still preserves some of the frescoes that were part of the original building. Between 1797 and 1912, the monastery was used as a prison. The monastery and cloister were then destroyed during the war and were restored in 1968 to house some municipal offices. The church is called the city's pantheon because it houses the tombs of Ferrara's illustrious cultural figures.
