It has taken me quite a while to venture inside this church. Looks quite impressive from the front, saints carved from stone, but still just another building you pass by without pausing for too long.
Well here’s my suggestion to you, friend: Pop your head in the door. Doesn’t cost you anything, unless you want to contribute to the very worthy restoration efforts. And you will find yourself inside a building created out of love, and faith, and a whole lot of money. We are told that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is the greatest ceiling in the history of the world, which may well be true, but when I was there I was rapidly shuttled through in a throng of tourists which didn’t leave much time for contemplation. You can take your time in this church, which features a pretty impressive ceiling of it’s own.
More than the ornate ceiling, you can also take a look at the right wrist-bone of Saint Paul himself, as well as part of the column on which he was supposed to have been beheaded. This brings up some issues about the superstitious – not to say ghoulish – tropes of the Christian faith. On the other hand, beheadings have been a rarity in Christian countries since that revolutionary business in France a couple of hundred years ago, which I’m going to go ahead and say is a good thing.
In summary: Decapitation Bad, Visiting Church of St. Paul’s Shipwreck Good.
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