The New Testament does not say when
or how Paul died. The date of Paul's
death is believed to have occurred after the Great Fire of Rome in July 64 AD, but
before the last year of Nero's reign, in 68 AD.
A legend later developed that his
martyrdom occurred at the Aquae Salviae,
on the Via Laurentina.
Paul was decapitated, his severed
head rebounded three times, giving rise to a source of water each time that it
touched the ground, which is how the place earned the name St Paul at the Three Fountains ( "San Paolo alle Tre Fontane" ).
Paul's body was buried outside the
walls of Rome, at the second mile on the Via
Ostiensis, on the estate owned by a Christian woman named Lucina. It was
here, in the 4th century, that the Emperor Constantine the Great
built a first church. Then, between the 4th and 5th centuries
it was considerably enlarged by the Emperors Valentinian I, Valentinian II,
Theodosius I, and Arcadius. The present-day Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( “Basilica Papale di San Paolo
fuori le Mura” ) was built there in 1800.
Tre Fontane Abbey
( Three Fountains Abbey )
Belonging to the monastery are three
separate churches.
The first, the Church of St. Paul of
Three Fountains, was raised on the spot where St. Paul was beheaded by order of
the Emperor Nero.
The second church, Santa Maria Scala
Coeli, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title "Our Lady of
Martyrs". In this
church is the altar of the scala coeli ("ladder to heaven"), from
which the church receives its present name.
Third are the church and monastery
dedicated to Saints Vincent and Anastasius, built by Pope Honorius I in 626 AD and
given to the Benedictines. They were to care for the two older sanctuaries, as
well as their own church.
1.
Arco di Carlo Magno
( Arch of Charlemagne )
The gate at the entrance is called
Arco di Carlo Magno, because Charlemagne made substantial donations to the
monastery. The existing arch was
constructed in 805 AD.
2.
Chiesa Santa Maria Scala Coeli
( Church Saint Mary of the Stairway to Heaven )
Santa
Maria Scala Coeli (Saint Mary of the Stairway to Heaven, church on the site of
St Paul the Apostle's prison where he was held before his martydom.
The
present church was built in 1581 on the order of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese,
which was completed in1584. The
architect was Giacomo della Porta.
The
interior was completed in 1589 by Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini.
The
church has an irregular octagonal plan.
The fabric in in pink brick, with architectural detail in traventine
limestone.
3.
Chiesa di San Paolo al Martirio
( Church of the Martyrdom of St. Paul )
The present church was begun in 1599
on the orders of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, and completed in 1601. The
architect was Giacomo della Porta.
On The frieze is an inscription
extolling Cardinal Aldobrandini : PETRUS DIAC(ONUS) CAR(DINALIS) ALDOBRANDINUS
S(ANCTAE) R(OMANAE) E(CCLESIAE) CAMER(ARIUS) F(ECIT)
Above the doorway is an ornate plaque
with curlicues, swags and a putto’s head, which reads : S(ANCTI) PAULI APOSTOLI
MARTYRII LOCUS, UBI TRES FONTES MIRABILITER ERUPERUNT, meaning “ the place of
the martyrdom of St. Paul the Apostle, where three springs miraculously broke
out”.
Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi
( Saints Vincent and Anastasius at Trevi )
The
Church is built by Popo Honorius I in 626 AD, originally dedicated to St Anastasius the
Persian, then added St Vincent of Saragossa.
The
present building was built in 1646 to 1650 in the Boroque style under the order
of Cardinal Mazarin, to the design of architect martino Longhi the Younger.
The
church’s interior features a single nave.
The altar is decorated by the painting Martyrdom of Sants Vincent and
Anastasius by Francesco Pascucci.
