The Ruins of St. Paul is a famous interesting place in Macao.The Ruins of St. Paul's were initially built in 1602. In 1835, a fire razed the church, leaving only the dramatic facade standing in four colonnaded tiers, complete with carvings and statues. Today, the Ruins of St. Paul's is a symbol of Macao.大三巴牌坊，其正式名称为圣保禄大教堂遗址，是澳门天主之母教堂（圣保禄教堂）正面前壁的遗址。今天，我们的话题就是大三巴牌坊，让我们来一起领略一下澳门独特的风景吧！

History

Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits(耶稣会士yēsūhuìshì), the cathedral(大教堂dàjiàotánɡ) was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with(争先恐后的zhēnɡxiān kǒnɡhòu de) each other to bestow upon(赐予cìyǔ) the cathedral the best gifts. With the decline in importance of Macau, which was overtaken as the main port for the Pearl River Delta by Hong Kong, the cathedral's fortunes similarly ebbed(减弱jiǎnruò), and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835.
圣堂创建于1582年，在1595年和1601年先后两次失火焚毁。教堂第三次修建由意大利籍耶稣会会士斯皮诺拉神父设计，并于1602年奠基，是当时远东最大的天主教石建教堂。天主之母教堂先后被改作军官宿舍、兵营。1835年1月，教堂起火，最后剩下教堂的前壁。由于教堂前壁形似中国的传统牌坊，故本地人便称之为“大三巴牌坊”。

Features
The ruins now consist of the southern stone façade(门面ménmiàn)—intricately(复杂的fùzáde) carved between 1620 and 1627 by Japanese Christians in exile from their homeland and local craftsmen(工匠ɡōnɡjiɑnɡ) under the direction of Italian Jesuit Carlo Spinola—and the crypts of the Jesuits who established and maintained the Cathedral. The façade sits on a small hill, with 68 stone steps leading up to it. The carvings include Jesuit images with Oriental themes, such as a woman stepping on a seven-headed hydra(九头蛇jiǔtóu shé), described by Chinese characters as Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon. A few of the other carvings are the founders of the Jesuit Order, the conquest of Death by Jesus, and at the very top, a dove with wings outstretched(伸出shēnchū).
大三巴牌坊糅合了欧洲文艺复兴时期与东方建筑风格。前壁用麻石砌成。上下5层，左右共自第3层起可分9格，下有68层阶级，与教堂位置并不一致，因其兴建时朝教堂正面前壁右侧已建成圣保禄修院，所以必须歪曲迁就。大三巴牌坊最上层为一个三角形山花，上有铜鸽象征圣神，左右有日月星辰。顶部有一十字架。正中为小耶稣，往外由4枝混合式壁柱组成，柱间以天使浅浮雕点缀，柱两边有弧形山墙。中央为圣母蒙召升天，天使奏乐欢庆，周围饰以牡丹和菊花，象征来自中国和日本的基督徒技师。牌坊最下层有3个入口并有10枝爱奥尼柱式支撑及装饰墙面，正门上写有拉丁语“MATER DEI”（意思为天主之母）。侧门门楣上有耶稣会会徽“IHS”的浮雕图案。

Conservation(保护bǎohù)
Resisting calls for the dangerously leaning structure to be demolished, from 1990 to 1995 the ruins were excavatedunder the auspices(保护bǎohù) of the Instituto Cultural de Macau to study its historic past. The crypt(地穴dìxué) and the foundations were uncovered, revealing the architectural plan of the building. Numerous religious artifacts were also found together with the relics of the Japanese Christian martyrs and the monastic clergy(牧师mùshī), including the founder of the Jesuit College in Macau, Father Alessandro Valignano. The ruins were restored by the Macanese government into a museum, and the facade is now buttressed with concrete and steel in a way which preserves theaesthetic(审美shénměi) integrity(完整性wánzhěnɡxìnɡ) of the facade. A steelstairway(楼梯lóutī) allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear(后方hòufānɡ). It is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins from the stairs, for luck.
由于大三巴牌坊是澳门的地标性建筑之一，故政府会定期对牌坊进行检查和修复。最近一次修复工作时，为确保游客看到大三巴牌坊，当局仿效欧洲的做法并设计了一幅大型帆布，悬挂于工程排栅的最底层，帆布上印有大三巴牌坊底层的真实图案，方便游客拍照。此外，大三巴牌坊作为旅游热点，很多不同的活动如澳门国际音乐节的露天音乐会、艺穗巡游和澳门国际青年舞蹈节也会在这里及邻近的耶稣会纪念广场举行。游客也可以站在台阶上像最高的窗户内抛硬币以求平安幸运。大三巴牌坊是澳门的标志性建筑物之一，同时也为“澳门八景”之一。2005年与澳门历史城区的其他文物成为联合国世界文化遗产。大三巴牌坊代表着澳门经历的或喜或悲的历史，是中国历史上不可缺少的一页。如果你对大三巴牌坊感兴趣，那么就快快行动起来吧！！