Friday 28 March 2008

Ruins of St. Paul 大三巴牌坊

Today Macau's most famous tourist site, Ruins of St. Paul refer to the façade of what was originally the Cathedral of St. Paul. The structure stands adjacent to the famous Mount Fortress and Macau Museum.

St Paul College Cathedral was the largest Christian church in Asia at the time built in the 16 century. A violent typhoon hit Macau in 1835 and the church caught fire for the third time in 1835.

The structure has five tiers from the bottom up:
The first tier is comprised of ten Ionic columns with three entrances. The entrance in the middle has 'MATER DEI' carved into it. The two entrances on each side are decorated with bas-reliefs in the pattern of 'HIS'.

The second tier features ten Corinthian columns with three windows. A Catholic saint is enshrined in each of four tabernacles between columns. The two tiers as a whole is said to represent the Society of Jesus and the activities of missionaries.

The remaining three tiers are the most decorated.
The statue of Madonna stands in the middle of the third tier and the statue of Jesus stands on the fourth. The walls are covered with bas-reliefs in various patterns like devils, angels, symbols of crucifixion, a Portuguese sailing ship, etc.

The triangular combination of the upper three tiers reflects the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) as well as the Blessed Virgin Mary. A cross stands at the coping of the wall.

The Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt was also built and has exhibitions of religions artworks including paintings, sculptures and statues.


澳門的標志性建筑大三巴牌坊 (Ruinas da Antiga Catedral de S. Paulo), 一般稱為大三巴(而聖若瑟修院一區被稱為小三巴), 部份澳門市民直接稱為牌坊。

大三巴牌坊是天主之母教堂(即聖保祿教堂)正面前壁的遺址。 聖保祿教堂於1602年由意大利籍耶穌會會士斯皮諾拉神父設計, 現在牌坊左側還存有當時的奠基石。 整個建筑工程於1637至1640年間才完全竣工。 目前所見的教堂前壁就是最后落成的部分。 1835年的一場大火后, 僅燒剩教堂的正面前壁、大部分地基以及教堂前的石階。 自此之后這裡便成為世界聞名的聖保祿教堂遺址。 本地人因教堂前壁形似中國傳統牌坊, 將之稱為大三巴牌坊。 教堂為矯飾主義風格。 前壁用麻石砌成。 上下5層, 左右共自第3層起可分9格。 前壁右側有一石旗杆夾(左邊與之成對的一副已不存), 下有68層階級, 與教堂位置並不一致。

第一層:最上層為一個三角形山花, 上有銅鴿象徵聖神, 左右有日月星辰。 頂部有一十字架。

第二層:正中為小耶穌, 圍以釘死其之刑具, 往外由4枝混合式壁柱組成, 柱間以天使淺浮雕點綴, 柱兩邊有弧形山牆。

第三層:中央為聖母升天, 天使奏樂歡慶, 周圍飾以牡丹和菊花(象徵來自中國和日本的基督徒技師)。 此一層中央共有6枝混合式壁柱, 兩側以方尖柱代替壁柱。 各柱間均以淺浮雕裝飾, 左邊是智慧之樹及一隻七翼龍, 其上有一聖母, 側有中文「聖母踏龍頭」字樣, 而右邊對稱位置上則是生命之泉及一隻西式帆船, 上有海星聖母。 在柱組外邊是一頂呈弧狀之扶壁, 右邊是一骷髏及中文字「念死者無為罪」, 左邊則是一魔鬼浮雕及中文「鬼是誘人為惡」, 此層最外側兩塊牆身是由兩條帶有圓頂之方尖柱, 左面牆身再現鴿子, 下有一開啟的門, 而右面為被箭所穿之王冠, 下方門閉鎖, 意即信仰而非權勢才是天國之道。 而牆側則設有中國舞獅造型的開大口之獅子作滴水之用。

第四層:由10支科林斯柱式及3個窗口組成, 窗楣上有均有七朵玫瑰花浮雕裝飾, 中間窗口側兩柱間以棕櫚樹裝飾, 側窗洞兩邊柱間對稱設有壁龕, 供奉4位聖人。

第五層:牌坊最下層有3個入口並有10枝愛奧尼柱式支撐及裝飾牆面, 正門兩側各3枝, 而側門一邊各2枝, 正門上寫有意大利文「MATER DEI」(意思是此教堂是供奉天主之母及有通往天國之門的意思)。 側門門楣上有耶穌會的「口號」IHS(意思是人類救主)的浮雕圖案。

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