大三巴的英文

在澳門旅遊時，只要多加一點觀察，不難發現澳門通街通巷俱是古蹟。換言之，單是澳門街頭，已是個活脫脫的博物館。

就如澳門多年來的地標「大三巴」﹝Ruins of St. Paul's﹞便是其中一個例子。

大三巴是前聖保祿教堂的遺蹟。教堂前身是遠東第一所大學，由意大利籍的耶穌會神父設計，中日工匠以鬼斧神工的技術興建而成，從一六零二年奠基，至一六三七年才全部落成。

可惜，一八五三年一場大火，把整間教堂焚燬，只遺下現時所看到的教堂前壁。

聖保祿教堂的建築，揉合了歐洲文藝復興時期與東方建築的風格而成，中西合壁、雕刻精細，大三巴牌坊的造價，三百年前已耗資達三萬兩銀。

而大三巴壁上的精緻浮雕，也別有風味。

大三巴牌坊的保養工程在1991年峻工。從牌坊頂部逐層而下，先是一個高高在上的十字架，可分三層，每層的壁龕均藏有一銅像，是澳門早年的製砲工廠所鑄造。

十字架對下是一具鴒形銅像，據說是代表聖神，聖像旁邊圍有太陽；月亮及星辰的可刻，象徵聖母童貞懷孕一剎那時光。

牌坊的底部有三面大門，正面的大門上刻有拉丁文MATER DEI字樣，意即「天主聖母」，兩側的門上刻有耶穌的記號 "IHS"

從大三巴牌坊鄰近的一砲台下望，可以看見整座教堂不蹟及後面市場的一些石刻。

The Ruins of St. Paul's (also known as Sam Ba Sing Tzik) stands adjacent to the famous Mount Fortress and Macau Museum. The front façade and the grand stone stairs are the only remains of the greatest church in Macau.

First constructed in 1580, St. Paul's Church caught fires in 1595 and 1601. However, reconstruction started in 1602 soon after the church was burnt down. Completed in 1637, the church became the biggest Catholic Church in East Asia at that time. Unfortunately, a violent typhoon hit Macau in 1835 and the church caught fire for the third time leaving its glory a history. According to historical materials, St Paul's Church, built with white stones, had a grand vaulted roof. It had three magnificently decorated halls.

Built with granites, Sam Ba Sing Tzik has a baroque facade rich in ornamentation but with classic oriental characteristics. From the bottom up, the structure has five tiers. 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, while 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.

It is worth mentioning that the stone lions at the sides of the third and fourth tiers are distinctively Chinese. There are also bas-reliefs in designs of chrysanthemum and cherry, as well as Chinese inscriptions. The surviving façade has long been acknowledged as a perfect fusion of western and eastern cultures.

The Ruins of St. Paul's has been restored during 1990 and 1995. The Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt was also built at that time. It has exhibitions of religions artworks including paintings, sculptures and statues.

The Cathedral of Saint Paul — informally known as Saint Paul's Cathedral (Traditional Chinese: 聖保祿大教堂, commonly known as "大三巴") — was a 16th-century cathedral in Macau, China, dedicated to Saint Paul the apostle of Jesus. Today, its ruins are arguably the Macau Region's most famous tourist site.



Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the Cathedral was the largest Catholic church 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 fortune's similarly ebbed, and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. The Fortaleza do Monte overlooks the ruin.

The ruins now consist of the southern stone façade - intricately carved by Japanese monks - and the crypts of the Jesuits who established and maintained the Cathedral. The façade sits on a small hill, with 66 stone steps leading to the façade. The carvings include Jesuit images with Oriental themes, including one of a woman stepping on a seven-headed hydra, described by Chinese characters as 'the Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon'. Other engravings include those of the founders of the Jesuit Order, the conquest of Death by Jesus, and others, all topped by a dove with wings outstretched.



The Ruins of Saint Pauls in the evening light.
Resisting calls for the dangerously leaning structure to be demolished; from 1990 to 1995 the ruins were excavated under the auspices of the Instituto Cultural de Macau, to study its historic past. The crypt 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, 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 the aesthetic integrity of the facade. A steel stairway allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear. It is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins from the stairs, for luck.

Since 2005, the ruins have been protected as part of the Historic Centre of Macau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As of November 20th, 2006, the windows and portions of the facade are covered with plastic tarps, and the steel staircase is closed for renovation work.


See also
Pai Fong
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Saint_Paul_in_Macau"
參考資料:
http://en.wikipedia.org/

大三巴牌坊 (Ruínas 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。大三巴牌坊為澳門的標誌性建築物之一，為澳門歷史城區一部份。

牌坊是位於聖保祿山（因聖保祿山上多柿樹，故民間又稱作為柿山）的上天主之母教堂 (A lgreja da Mardre Deus)前壁。與大炮台及兩者之間的前聖保祿學院為一整體。聖堂創建於1580年，在1595和1601年先後兩次失火焚毀。教堂第三次修建由義大利籍耶穌會會士斯皮諾拉神父設計，於1602年奠基，1635年建成。1835年1月，教堂起火，最後剩下教堂的前壁。

1990年初，曾進行考古調查，發現了當時的建築遺址，現與部份澳門教會文物共同對外展出。在回歸前的澳葡政府已欲將牌坊申報為世界文化遺產，但由於政治及技術因素而未能成功。2005年，中國政府成功向聯合國教科文組織申報世界文化遺產，大三巴牌坊成為澳門歷史城區的一部份。


[編輯] 建築本身

大三巴牌坊的奠基石
正門上所寫的字︰MATER DEI
哪吒誕時的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。前壁右側有一石旗桿夾(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，中文則是「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；正門上寫有義大利文「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，

大三巴是de Sao Paul，即英文的The St. Paul的譯音