On This Day

A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome

The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura, Latin: Basilica Sancti Pauli extra mœnia) is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along...

The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura, Latin: Basilica Sancti Pauli extra mœnia) is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city's Seven Pilgrim Churches. The basilica is the conventual church of the adjacent Benedictine abbey. It lies within Italian territory, but the Holy See owns the basilica and it is part of the Vatican's extraterritoriality.

One of the oldest church sites in Rome, it was constructed outside the city's Aurelian Walls at what tradition holds to be the burial site of Saint Paul. It suffered a catastrophic fire in the 19th-century and the present building was completed in 1840.

Events Before

  1. Italian opera composer (The Barber of Seville) Gioachino Rossini weds 1st wife, opera singer Isabella Colbran, in Bologn

    Italian opera composer (The Barber of Seville) Gioachino Rossini weds 1st wife, opera singer Isabella Colbran, in Bologna, Papal States (now Italy)

  2. Nephew of Napoleon, biologist and ornithologist Prince Charles Bonaparte marries cousin Zenaide Bonaparte

    Nephew of Napoleon, biologist and ornithologist Prince Charles Bonaparte marries cousin Zenaide Bonaparte

  3. Pedro I, son of King John VI, declares Brazil's independence from Portugal (Independence Day)

    The Brazilian War of Independence (Portuguese: Guerra de Independência do Brasil) was an armed conflict that led to the separation of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the...

  4. French scholar Jean-François Champollion announces he has deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs using the Rosetta Stone

    Jean-François Champollion, also known as Champollion le jeune ('the Younger'; 23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian...

  5. French "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" author Victor Hugo (20) weds Adele Fourcher (19) in Paris, until her death in 1868

    French "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" author Victor Hugo (20) weds Adele Fourcher (19) in Paris, until her death in 1868

Events After

  1. Simón Bolívar is named dictator by the Congress of Peru

    Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military officer and statesman who led what are currently the countries…

  2. Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th (Choral) Symphony, often regarded as his greatest work, with libretto by poet Friedrich von S

    Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th (Choral) Symphony, often regarded as his greatest work, with libretto by poet Friedrich von Schiller, premieres at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna, Austria [1]

  3. Inventor Charles Goodyear (23) weds Clarissa Beecher

    Inventor Charles Goodyear (23) weds Clarissa Beecher

  4. US Navy flag officer David Farragut (23) weds Susan Caroline Marchant

    US Navy flag officer David Farragut (23) weds Susan Caroline Marchant

  5. Salt Lake City founder Brigham Young (23) weds first wife Miriam Angeline Works (18) in Port Byron, New York

    Salt Lake City founder Brigham Young (23) weds first wife Miriam Angeline Works (18) in Port Byron, New York

More from the 1820s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on July 15, 1823?
The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura, Latin: Basilica Sancti Pauli extra mœnia) is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city's Seven Pilgrim Churches. The basilica is the conventual church of the adjacent Benedictine abbey. It lies within Italian territory, but the Holy See owns the basilica and it is part of the Vatican's extraterritoriality.
Why is A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome historically important?
One of the oldest church sites in Rome, it was constructed outside the city's Aurelian Walls at what tradition holds to be the burial site of Saint Paul. It suffered a catastrophic fire in the 19th-century and the present building was completed in 1840.

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