Though looking old, it is very new. the church burnt to the ground in the late 1800's and was rebuilt. The mosaics were picked from the rubble (mind you that is one tiny chip of stone) and reset anew in the Sanctuary of the Church, as well as all the portraits of the popes that surround the Nave of the structure. The outside is beautiful and the monastery attached to the rear of the church survived the fire and does date back to the middle ages. It is often refereed to as the "Forest of Columns" due to the number of columns in the nave. The windows are actually alabaster, sliced very thinly to allow the passage of light and give an aura of wonderful earth tones to the inside. Let the show begin!
Walking up to the Front of the Church:
The Statue of St. Paul that sets in the center of the court yard. In Rome you can tell statues by the symbols they carry. St. Peter has keys, St. Andrew the X cross and St. Paul by the Sword. Tradition has Paul be decapitated outside the city walls (thus this church at the supposed spot of his death being located outside the city walls) since he was a Roman Citizen, he could not be crucified.
the facade of the Church in the next two shots:
the entry doors to the Church:
the Nave:
the main Sanctuary Moasic
Detail:
and the wonderful windows!
Hope you enjoy these!
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