RUINS OF St. PAULS

Most famous landmark, the Ruins of St. Paul’s continue to captivate visitors centuries after it was originally constructed. Today, most tourists who visit the ruins probably only see the remains of a beautiful old church, but there’s more to its story. In fact, the ruins serve as a key reminder of Macau’s unique roots. Located at the top of a hill, the structure was the largest church in Asia at the time and was acclaimed as “The Vatican of the Far East”. Its existence was meant to express the triumph of the Roman Catholic Church through the ornate grandeur of the buildings. The ruins were restored by the Macanese government into a museum, and today the façade is buttressed with concrete and steel in a way that preserves the aesthetic integrity of the façade. The Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt was built at the bottom of the ruins in 1996 and houses many religious artefacts including Sino-Portuguese crucifixes, as well as a 17th-century painting of St. Michael the Archangel – the only surviving work from the original college. Admission to the museum is free every day between the hours of 9am and 6pm. #ruinsofst.Pauls