Both the convent and the church were built in about 1282 by Cardinal Giacomo Savelli who became Pope Honorius IV later on.
In 1710 the painter Gaspar Van Wittel depicted the church and the adjoining convent in occasion of the visit to Albano by Pope Clement XI. (today at the Museum of Florence Pitti). In 1769 Cardinal Marco Antonio Colonna restored the whole building completely: especially the interior of the church was changed considerably, giving it a rather elaborate Baroque appearance, while the façade is in neoclassical style. The many canvases which decorate the church date back to the XVII and XVIII centuries. The most noteworthy is the one behind the altar representing the anointment of St. Paul, a late 17th century work by the painter Pietro da Cortona. The vault of the aisle is decorated with a fine 19th-century fresco that can be attributed to Gagliardi, a painter who was very active in Albano at that time. Under the altar in the chapel on the left there is the body of St. Caspar Del Bufalo, the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
Address: Piazza S. Paolo
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