St Paul's Within the Walls

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Map

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St Paul's Within the Walls (San Paolo entro le mura) was the first non-Catholic church to be built inside the ancient city walls. Designed by the English architect George Edmund Street (1824-81), the cornerstone was laid on January 25th, the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, 1873. The church was consecrated on March 25th 1876. 

Rose Window

The mosaics on the facade of the church are the work of the American artist George Breck (1863-1920). 

Nave

St Paul's Within the Walls contains a celebrated series of mosaics by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98). 

The Annunciation

On the face of the first arch, in front of the apse, is his depiction of the Annunciation. 

On the face of the second arch is a depiction of Christ, arms outstretched, before the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Christ is flanked by Adam and Eve, with their sons Cain and Abel.  

Christ in Glory

The mosaic in the upper part of the apse wall depicts Christ in Glory. There are two inscriptions at the bottom, one in Hebrew and one in Greek. In translation, the former reads:  “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1, KJV), and the latter: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God,” (John 1:1, KJV).

Church Triumphant (det.)

The mosaic in the lower register depicts the Church Triumphant. The major group in the centre represents the great ecclesiastical figures of the Church’s past, five fathers of the Eastern Church and five of the Western, with St. Paul in the middle of the group. 

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