Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral <br>(Macau)

Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral, namely Da Sam Ba , is the symbolic landmark of Macau.

Adjoined the Jesuit College of St. Paul, the first western college in the Far East where missionaries studied Chinese, the magnificent structure actually is the remaining front wall and majestic stairway of the sacred St. Paul's Church.

Designed by an Italian Father, the construction of this holy church began in 1602 and completed in 1637 with the help of the Japanese technology of superlative craftsmanship. However, due to an indissoluble cause, the church caught fire three times during its construction period and each time it was rebuilt until the last fire happened in 1853. The fire lasted for two hours and it set nearly the whole church into flames except the front wall, the most valuable part.

Before the mischance, the church is extremely splendid. When it was built in the 17th century, St Paul's Church was considered to be one of the grandest of its kind in the Orient. Famous for its grand appearance and delicate carving, the architecture of St Paul's Church concentrates the style of the European Renaissance period and that of eastern architecture, serving as a good combination of Chinese and western architectural characters.

During the 1990 to 1995, a large-scale restoration work was carried out by the government. After restoration, the backside of the Ruins of St. Paul's was turned into a museum, where exhibits of paintings, sculptures and liturgical objects from churches and monasteries in Macau were stored.

 

This was taken on a raining day where the sky are all white & wash out.

Feedback & comments most welcomed. Thks, Cherlyn

Feedback & comments most welcome. Thks

Dear Cherlyn, lovely pencil sketch effect!!! Best regards.

Splendid piece of architecture, very well presented.

Una composicion excelente,, con gama de grises correctas, un monumento historico,,, no tengo mas sietes,,, un cordial saludo,,,6/6

I've just attended a free history lesson. Just add in some more infro...As a colony of Portugal in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East, and the oldest European colony in China. It became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 20 December 1999, following an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987. China has promised Macau a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defence affairs, with its "one country, two systems" policy.

 

Hehehe... No link to your photo. Ok, Great Shot and Good PS skill.

 

Very nice B/W image, Cherlyn.

Best correspondence between motive and presentation!

I see you are doing architecture too dear Cherlyn!

well done. I like Your angle, and in B&W the ruins stand even more. I can see the emptiness. Oh, it was such a beautiful Cathedral!

Superbly done.

Thank you dear Friend :)

Biliana

Nice B/W shot; excellent perspective.

 

Regards..

Cherlyn, beautiful constraction, where forms and textures are accentuated by the white bg. History is interesting as well.well done, Pnina

white bg make it stand out nice perspective Good shot cherlyn.

 

 

....&and ambrellllas are perfect contra...for this beauty.

impressive Cherlyn! This huge facade has something sad about it, the rainy weather suits this mood.

Very impressive work dear Cherlyn, it looks like one of those pictures from the turn of the last century.

 

Cherlyn,with Your historic explanation it goes well together as a representation.The way You photographed it gives that historic feeling,almost like an etching. Nice to have it.

Great perspective and effect.

Great archit. shot. I think b/w is a right choice here.

WOW, what nice perspective , excellent image!

Very nice image dear Cherlyn...

Great use of black and white. It looks like a pencil drawing. Well done!

Very good B & W effect,Cherlyn. I like it very much.

Beautiful work, well done.

Well done ....dear !

: )

Great atmosphere & mood.