Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
On 15 July 1823, a workman repairing the roof gutters set a fire that all but destroyed a church that had kept much of its original character for 1,435 years — yet Paul is still believed to lie beneath the altar.
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Rome's second-largest church (131.66 m long), founded by Constantine over Paul's grave and consecrated in 324. In 2009, radiocarbon dating of bone fragments from the sarcophagus placed them in the 1st or 2nd century — the tomb it was built to shelter.
What to look for
- The frieze of papal portraits circling the nave above the 80 columns — a 19th-century remake of the painted originals lost in the fire
- Windows that read as stained glass from your seat but are actually translucent alabaster
- The 5th-century triumphal-arch mosaic (Christ flanked by the 24 Doctors of the Church) and, over the confession, Arnolfo di Cambio's 1285 ciborium
It stands outside the Aurelian Walls on the Ostiense Way; the Holy Door opens only in Jubilee years.
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of 40 sights worth the detour in Rome, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Rome pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Rome
- Vatican CityThe world's smallest sovereign state fits in 44 hectares — you cross its border by stepping over a white line.
- ColosseumAround 50,000 Romans packed this stone oval to watch spectacles staged over a two-level warren of cages beneath the arena floor.
- St. Peter's BasilicaThe world's largest church, built directly over the grave believed to hold St. Peter's bones.
- Sistine ChapelMichelangelo painted the ceiling standing up, not on his back — and cardinals still elect the pope in this room.
- PantheonA 1,900-year-old concrete dome with a hole punched in the top — when it rains in Rome, it rains inside too.
- Stadio OlimpicoOne 70,634-seat bowl, two cross-town tenants: AS Roma and SS Lazio both play here.