Ruins of St. Paul's Traditional Geocache
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7 Nov 2015 - relocated to outside, so 24/7 available, please bring your own pen. Stealth required.
*** Cache of the week ***
Ruins of St. Paul’s” GC20BD5 GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – July 11th, 2010 (visit link)
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Information of Ruins of St. Paul's from MACAU GOVERNMENT TOURIST OFFICE
(visit link)
Ruins of St. Paul's is part of The Historic Centre of Macau - a World Heritage Site
Only a magnificent stone façade and grand staircase remain of the iconic Church of St. Paul's. The church was built in 1602 next to the Jesuit College of St. Paul's, the first Western college in Asia where missionaries studied Chinese before serving at the Ming Court in Beijing as astronomers and mathematicians.
In 1835, a fire razed both the college and the church, leaving only the dramatic façade standing in four colonnaded tiers, complete with carvings and statues. The unique architecture of St Paul's Church recalls the style of the European Renaissance and Asian architecture in an intoxicating mix of Chinese and Western elements.
Today, many music performances are held at the Ruins of St. Paul's, which, with its stairs and dramatic setting, lends itself as a natural stage. Within the precincts of Ruins of St. Paul's lies the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt. The Museum exhibits religious paintings, statues and sacred objects from Churches in Macau while in the crypt adjacent to the Museum the visitor can observe the relics of martyrs from Japan and Vietnam.
大三巴牌坊 - 歐洲與中國文明的接觸點
澳門地標大三巴牌坊是旅客必到之地。自從1835年一場大火，原為中西合璧的聖保祿教堂，變成了只有前壁的遺址。聖保祿教堂是當時東方最大的天主教堂，號稱「東方梵蒂岡」，附屬於聖保祿學院。學院是遠東地區第一所西式大學，從1594年成立至1762年結束期間，不少訪華的外國傳教士來修讀中文，令學院成為這些傳教士進入中國的重要傳教基地，對推動歐洲和中國的宗教及文化交流起到無可比擬的卓越作用。
教堂成為遺址之後，因前壁與中國傳統牌坊相似，加上「聖保祿」從葡文 (São Paulo) 音譯成中文，說成「三巴」，才有大三巴牌坊的稱謂。牌坊的建築是巴洛克式，並有明顯東方色彩的雕刻，包括代表中國和日本的牡丹及菊花圖案，令她在全世界的天主教教堂中具有獨一無二的特色。
大三巴牌坊雖然已失去教堂的實際功能，但她與澳門人的生活息息相關。這裡不定期舉行各種文化活動，牌坊前長長的梯級正好成為天然的座位，讓牌坊剎那間變成巨大的佈景，舞台渾然天成。相信幾百年前生活在澳門的人，想不到這座教堂竟成為舉行文化活動的理想戶外場地。
從牌坊後面的鐵梯步上，可直達牌坊的第2層。站在這裡望出去，彷佛當年站在聖保祿教堂內俯覽小城人民的生活情形，必須親身經歷才能領略這種特別感覺。(not accessible now)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zntargvp, cyrnfr ersre gb fcbyvre,
ng bhgfvqr , 24/7, tbbq sbe zntargvp,
fgvyy unq ceboyrz?.....bx, terl, ybj