Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

About this place

The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city's Seven Pilgrim Churches. The basilica is the conventual church of the adjacent Benedictine abbey. It lies within Italian territory, but the Holy See owns the basilica and it is part of the Vatican's extraterritoriality. One of the oldest church sites in Rome, it was constructed outside the city's Aurelian Walls at what tradition holds to be the burial site of Saint Paul. It suffered a catastrophic fire in the 19th century and the present building was completed in 1840. As you explore, compare the building itself with its decoration and later additions. Differences in materials, forms and imagery can reveal successive periods of patronage, making the visit a way to understand how religious places evolved over time.