Although the modern building is from 1823, the basilica was founded by the RomanEmperor Constantine I over the burial place ofPaul of Tarsus, where it was said that, after the apostle's execution, his followers erected a memorial, called acella memoriae. This first basilica was consecrated byPope Sylvester in 324.[1]
In 386, EmperorTheodosius I began erecting a much larger and more beautiful basilica with a nave and four aisles with a transept. It was probably consecrated around 402 byPope Innocent I. The work, including the mosaics, was not completed untilLeo I's pontificate (440–461). In the 5th century, it was larger than theOld Saint Peter's Basilica. The Christian poetPrudentius, who saw it at the time of emperorHonorius (395–423), describes the splendours of the monument in a few expressive lines.
Under Leo I, extensive repair work was carried out following the collapse of the roof on account of fire or lightning. In particular, the transept (i.e. the area around Paul's tomb) was elevated and a new main altar and presbytery were installed. This was probably the first time that an altar was placed over the tomb of Saint Paul, which remained untouched, but largely underground given Leo's newly elevated floor levels. Leo was also responsible for fixing the triumphal arch and for restoring a fountain in the courtyard (atrium).
UnderPope Gregory the Great (590–604), the main altar and presbytery were extensively modified. The pavement in the transept was raised and a new altar was placed above the earlier altar erected byLeo I. The position was directly over Saint Paul's sarcophagus.
In that period, there were two monasteries near the basilica: Saint Aristus's for men and Saint Stefano's for women. Masses were celebrated by a special body of clerics instituted byPope Simplicius. Over time, the monasteries and the basilica's clergy declined;Pope Gregory II restored the former and entrusted the monks with the basilica's care.
As it lay outside theAurelian Walls, the basilica was damaged in the 9th century during aSaracen raid. Consequently,Pope John VIII (872–882) fortified the basilica, the monastery, and the dwellings of the peasantry,[2] forming the town of Johannispolis (Italian:Giovannipoli) which existed until 1348, whenan earthquake totally destroyed it.
Pope Benedict XIV undertook the restoration of the apse mosaic and the frescoes of the central nave, and commissioned the painter Salvatore Manosilio to continue the series of papal portraits, which at that time ended withPope Vitalian, who had reigned over a millennium earlier.[4]
On 15 July 1823, a workman repairing the copper gutters of the roof started a fire that led to the near-total destruction of this basilica, which, alone among all the churches of Rome, had preserved much of its original character for 1435 years.[1] More recent studies indicate that the cause of the fire could be different from that indicated by official sources.[5] Marble salvaged from the burnt-out Saint Paul's was re-laid for the floor ofSanto Stefano del Cacco.[6]
In 1825,Leo XII issued the encyclicalAd plurimas encouraging donations for the reconstruction. A few months later, he issued orders that the basilica be rebuilt exactly as it had been when new in the fourth century, though he also stipulated that precious elements from later periods, such as the medieval mosaics and tabernacle, also be repaired and retained. These guidelines proved unrealistic for a variety of reasons and soon ceased to be enforced. The result is a reconstructed basilica that bears only a general resemblance to the original and is by no means identical to it. The reconstruction was initially entrusted to the architect Pasquale Belli, who was succeeded upon his death in 1833 byLuigi Poletti,[7] who supervised the project until his death in 1869 and was responsible for the lion's share of the work. Poletti also asked the scientist Angelo Secchi to design an automatic fire detection and extinguishing system, which was later removed.[8] Many elements which had survived the fire were reused in the reconstruction.[1] Many foreign rulers also made contributions.Muhammad Ali Pasha,Viceroy of Egypt gave columns ofalabaster, while theEmperor of Russia donated preciousmalachite andlapis lazuli that was used on some of the altar fronts. The transept and high altar were consecrated byPope Gregory XVI in October 1840,[9] and that part of the basilica was then re-opened. The entire building was reconsecrated in 1854 in the presence ofPope Pius IX and fifty cardinals. Many features of the building were still to be executed at that date, however, and work ultimately extended into the twentieth century. The quadriporticus looking toward theTiber was completed by the Italian Government, which declared the church a national monument. On 23 April 1891, an explosion at the gunpowder magazine at Forte Portuense destroyed the basilica's stained glass windows.
In 2024 the Governorate of Vatican City and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation have signed a significant agreement to restore the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.[10]
The covered portico (or narthex) that precedes the façade is a Neo-classicist addition of the 19th-century reconstruction. On the right is the Holy Door, which is opened only during theJubilees. On the inside is a second door, known as the Byzantine door, which was present in the pre-19th century basilica; it contains on one side 56 small square engraved bronze panels, and was commissioned in 1070 by Pantaleone, Consul of Amalfi in Constantinople, and putatively cast in Constantinople. It depicts a number of episodes in the life of Christ and the apostles.
The new basilica has maintained the original structure with one nave and four side aisles. It is 131.66 metres (432.0 ft) long, 65 metres (213 ft)-wide,and 29.70 metres (97.4 ft)-high, the second largest in Rome.
The nave's 80 columns and its wood and stucco-decorated ceiling are from the 19th century. All that remains of the ancient basilica are the interior portion of theapse with thetriumphal arch. The mosaics of the apse were greatly damaged in the 1823 fire; only a few traces were incorporated in the restoration. The 5th-century mosaics of the triumphal arch are original (but also heavily reworked): an inscription in the lower section attest they were done at the time of Leo I, paid byGalla Placidia. The subject portrays theApocalypse of John, with the bust of Christ in the middle flanked by the 24 Doctors of the Church, surmounted by the flying symbols of the four Evangelists. Saint Peter and Saint Paul are portrayed at the right and left of the arch, the latter pointing downwards (probably to his tomb).
From the inside, the windows may appear to be stained glass, but they are actually translucent alabaster.[13]
In the old basilica each pope had his portrait in a paintedfrieze extending above the columns separating the aisles from the nave. A 19th-century[citation needed] mosaic version can be seen now. The nave's interior walls were also redecorated with painted scenes from Saint Paul's life placed between the windows of the clerestory.
South of the transept is the cloister, considered "one of the most beautiful of the Middle Ages".[14] Built byVassalletto in 1205–1241, it has double columns of different shapes. Some columns have inlays with golden and colored-glass mosaics; the same decoration can be seen on the architrave and the inner frame of the cloister. Also visible are fragments from the destroyed basilica and ancient sarcophagi, one with scenes of the myth of Apollo.
Outside the Basilica is the original sculpture ofWhen I was in Prison, created by Canadian artistTimothy Schmalz as part of the Matthew 25 collection installed throughout Rome on the occasion of theExtraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.[15]
According to tradition, Saint Paul's body was buried two miles away from thelocation of his martyrdom, in the sepulchral area along theOstiense Way, which was owned by a Christian woman named Lucina. Atropaeum was erected on it and quickly became a place of veneration.[a]
Constantine I erected a basilica on the tropaeum's site, and the basilica was significantly extended byTheodosius I from 386, into what is now known as Saint Paul Outside the Walls. During the 4th century, what was believed to be Paul's remains, excluding the head, were moved into a sarcophagus. (According to church tradition the head rests at theLateran.) Paul's suspected tomb is below a marble tombstone in the basilica's crypt, at 1.37 metres (4.5 ft) below the altar. The tombstone bears the Latin inscriptionPAULO APOSTOLO MART ("to Paul the apostle and martyr"). The inscribed portion of the tombstone has three holes, two square and one circular.[16] The circular hole is connected to the tomb by a pipeline, reflecting the Roman custom of pouring perfumes inside the sarcophagus, or to the practice of providing the bones of the dead with libations. The sarcophagus below the tombstone measures 2.55 metres (8.4 ft) long, 1.25 metres (4.1 ft) wide and 0.97 metres (3.2 ft) high.
Front of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
The discovery of the sarcophagus is mentioned in the chronicle of the Benedictine monastery attached to the basilica, in regard to the 19th century rebuilding. Unlike other sarcophagi found at that time, this was not mentioned in the excavation papers.[17]
On December 6, 2006, it was announced that Vatican archaeologists had confirmed the presence of a white marblesarcophagus beneath the altar, perhaps containing the remains of the Apostle.[18][19] A press conference held on December 11, 2006[20] gave more details of the work of excavation, which lasted from 2002 to September 22, 2006, and which had been initiated afterpilgrims to the basilica expressed disappointment that the Apostle's tomb could not be visited or touched during the Jubilee year of 2000.[21] The sarcophagus was not extracted from its position, so that only one of its two longer sides is visible.[22]
In 2009,Pope Benedict XVI announced thatradiocarbon dating of bone fragments found in the sarcophagus indicated they were from the 1st or 2nd century, aligning with the traditional timeline of Paul's life.[23] The Pope argued that this discovery, along with other artifacts such as a piece of purple linen laminated with pure gold, grains ofincense, and blue textiles withlinen filaments, all support the hypothesis that the remains are indeed those of Saint Paul.[24][25] However, Ulderico Santamaria, the head of theVatican Museums' diagnostics laboratory and a Professor with expertise in Analytical Chemistry and Materials Engineering at Tuscia University, urged caution, noting that the dating neither confirms nor invalidates the relics' traditional assignment to St. Paul.[26]
A curved line of bricks indicating the outline of the apse of the Constantinian basilica was discovered immediately to the west of the sarcophagus, showing that the original basilica had its entrance to the east, like Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The larger 386 basilica that replaced it had the Via Ostiense (the road to Ostia) to the east and so was extended westward, towards the river Tiber, changing the orientation diametrically.
^The earliest account of a visit to the memorials of the apostles is attributed to Gaius, the Presbyter, "who lived whenZephyrinus was bishop of Rome [AD 199–217]", as quoted byEusebius reporting that "I can point out the tropaia of the Apostles [Peter and Paul]; for if you go to the Vatican or the Ostian Way, you will find the tropaia of those who founded this Church".[citation needed]
^Rusconi, Roberto (2016). "Benedict XIV and the Holiness of the Popes in the First Half of the Eighteenth Century". In Messbarger, Rebecca; Johns, Christopher M. S.; Gavitt, Philip (eds.).Benedict XIV and the Enlightenment: Art, Science, and Spirituality. University of Toronto Press. pp. 278–279.doi:10.3138/9781442624757.ISBN978-1442624757.
Nicola Camerlenghi,St. Paul's Outside the Walls: A Roman Basilica from Antiquity to the Modern Era (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
Richard Wittman,Rebuilding St. Paul's Outside the Walls: Architecture and the Catholic Revival in the Nineteenth Century (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2024).
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