I find Macau quite paradoxical. A gambler
paradise... yet I could find a number of churches and chapels scatter all over
the city. Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, St. Lawrence's Church, St.
Dominic's Church... to name a few. And let's not leave behind the magnificent
Ruins of St. Paul's... my next destination. If I had listed casino-hopping in
my itinerary, I definitely had to consider church-hopping as well.
Mr. Nice Guy met us at The Venetian after work... and we took a public bus to
Senado Square. The bus was crammed with people and we had to tighten our grips
on the bus pole. Rain started falling on the window... it was a wet wet night.
To avoid from getting soaked, we stopped by a local KFC and had our dinner. By
the time we finished stuffing our stomach, the rain had stopped. What a great
timing!
A nice evening to take a stroll at Senado Square. Most of the stores were
closed. Personally I think exploring Senado Square by nighttime is more
suitable since it's less crowded. The mass of tourists is unbelievable by
daytime and you can hardly admire the beautiful pavement with people stand in
your way. Senado Square is paved in the traditional Portuguese pavement... the
wave-patterned stone mosaic of colored stone... making it a pedestrian
paradise. We took our time strolling through the quiet clean streets which lead
us to the Ruins of St. Paul's... and there it is... the magnificent stone
facade of Ruins of St. Paul's stands graciously in the middle of the night...
with lots of dogs chasing frisbee... running up and down the staircase. I guess
this place maybe one of the most popular hanging-out place around. The
beautiful lighting makes the stone facade and grand staircase more appealing...
yet the dogs kept my friends away as they scared the hell out of my
traveling-mates :)
Useful Link: http://www.macautourism.gov.mo
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| Direction Signboard |
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| Senado Square |
The
Senado Square (Largo de Senado, Senate Square, 議事亭前地) is a paved area in the center of Macau,
enclosed by the building of the Leal Senado (Loyal Senate 民政總署大樓), the General Post
Office, and St. Dominic's Church (Igreja de Sao Domingos 玫瑰堂).
The square is paved in the traditional Portuguese pavement and is part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Center of Macau 澳門歷史城區", making it the 31st designated World
Heritage site in China. The square is surrounded by pastel-colored
neo-classical buildings, creating a Mediterranean atmosphere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senado_Square
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| Senado Square | |
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| Ruin of St. Paul's |
The Ruins of St. Paul's (Ruinas de Sao Paolo 大三巴牌坊) is one of Macau's most famous landmark. Built in th 16th century, it
was originally known as St. Paul's College, the Cathedral of St. Paul and the
Church of Mater Dei.
The ruins now consisted of the southern stone facade which was designed by a
Father of Italian nationality and was constructed with the help of Japanese
technology. The cathedral was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835.
Only the southern stone façade remains today.
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| Ruin of St. Paul's |
The Ruins of St. Paul used to be the front
wall of the famous St. Paul's Cathedral that was burned down in a big fire. Nothing
but the 68 stone stairs and the granite front wall remained in the fire.
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| Ruin of St. Paul's |
The
facade of the Ruins of St. Paul’s measures 23 metres across and 25.5 metres
high and is divided into five levels. The upper levels gradually narrow into a
triangular pediment at the top, which symbolizes the ultimate state of divine
ascension - the Holy Spirit. On top of it, there stands aloft the Cross.
Underneath it is again subdivided into storeys. In the niche of each floor, a
bronze statue is stored. Under the Cross, there is a bronze statue in the shape
of a pigeon, representing the Holy God, and around it, there are stone
sculptures of the sun, the moon and the stars symbolizing the pregnancy of St
Virgin Maria in a flash of light and below (fourth floor) is a picture of Holy
Son - Jesus Christ. Beside it are the tools used to crucify Jesus. Right in the
middle of the third floor, is carved the statue of St Virgin Maria surrounded
with peony and chrysanthemum on both sides, the former represents China and the
latter, Japan. On the left are carved "Eternal Crowd", a
"Sailing Boat in Portuguese Style" and a "Monster with Ferocious
Features". On the right are carved statues of the Life of Tree and St
Maria conquering the monster and piercing through the death's head, all of
which symbolizes the conquest of death. And still below is the niche floor, on
which there is a statue of four figures with Jesus meeting with the sage. At
the bottom of the Ruins of St. Paul's are three doors. On the main door is
inscribed the Latin words Mater Dei, representing Goddess St Maria. On both
sides of it is inscribed the mark "JHS" of Jesus Christ. The initials
JHS stands for Jesus Christ Savior of Mankind.
http://www.orientaltravel.com/province/city/area/Macau_Ruins_of_St_Pauls.htm
http://www.olamacauguide.com/ruinsofstpaul.html
http://www.globaltravelguider.com/tag/our-lady-of-snow-church-hall
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| Ruin of St. Paul's |
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| Ruin of St. Paul's |
Pic was taken from the upper platform.
Climbing 68 stone stairs really paid off with the magnificent bird-eye view and
an opportunity to have a close look at the church facade.
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Ruin of St. Paul's
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