Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, Major basilica in Rome, Italy
The basilica is a large church in the city with five naves separated by 80 freestanding granite columns stretching 131 meters. The ceiling reaches 29 meters high and the space feels open and expansive through the long rows of pillars.
Construction began in 386 under Emperor Theodosius I over the apostle's burial site and consecration followed a few years later. A fire destroyed the building almost completely in 1823 and reconstruction took several decades.
Portrait medallions line the upper walls showing every church leader from the first to the present one in an unbroken sequence around the interior. This gallery gets updated after each election and forms a continuous visual record of ecclesiastical leadership.
The church opens daily from 7 in the morning until half past 6 in the evening and entrance to the main hall is free. The medieval cloister requires a fee of 4 euros and sits to the side of the main entrance.
The bronze doors with 54 panels of biblical scenes come from Constantinople in the 11th century and survived as one of the few original elements through the fire. The individual panels show detailed depictions from the Old and New Testament in Byzantine style.
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