 thumb|ruins of saint paul's cathedral the ruins of st. paul's (, ) refers to the ruins of a 16th-century complex in macau including of what was originally st. paul's college and the cathedral of st. paul also known as "mater dei", a 17th-century portuguese cathedral dedicated to saint paul the apostle. today, the ruins are one of macau's best known landmarks. in 2005, they were officially listed as part of the historic centre of macau, a unesco world heritage site. ==history==  built from 1602 to 1640 by the jesuits, the cathedral was one of the largest catholic churches in asia at the time, and the royalty of europe vied with each other to bestow upon 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, and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon on the 26january 1835. the fortaleza do monte overlooks the ruin. according to historian, angelo paratico the faÃ§ade may have been inspired by a sketch of leonardo da vinci. ==features== thumb|behind the faÃ§ade are remains of the original pillars and a shrine thumb|panorama of ruins of st paul's from the front of faÃ§ade. the ruins now consist of the southern stone faÃ§adeâintricately carved between 1620 and 1627 by japanese christians in exile from their homeland and local craftsmen under the direction of italian jesuit carlo spinolaâand the crypts of the jesuits who established and maintained the cathedral. the faÃ§ade sits on a small hill, with 68 stone steps leading up to it. the carvings include jesuit images with oriental themes, such as the apocalyptic woman stepping on a seven-headed hydra, described in chinese characters as 'holy mother tramples the heads of the dragon'. a few of the other carvings are of the founders of the jesuit order, the conquest of death by jesus, and at the very top, a dove with wings outstretched. ==conservation== resisting calls for the dangerously leaning structure to be demolis
Christianity_in_Macau Churches_in_Macau Historic_Centre_of_Macau Jesuit_churches Macau_Peninsula Portuguese_Macau Religious_buildings_completed_in_1602 Roman_Catholic_Church_in_Macau Roman_Catholic_cathedrals_in_Asia Visitor_attractions_in_Macau