Rome, Italy: Church of Saint Paul at the Three Fountains: Fountain 1
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Four miles outside the city of Rome, Italy is the Abbey of the Three Fountains, run by Cisterian monks belonging to the Trappist order. The complex contains three churches, of which Church of Saint Paul at the Three Fountains (Church of the Martyrdom of Saint Paul; San Paolo alle Tre Fontane; Church of St. Paul the Apostle) is most sacred. This church was built on the site where Saint Paul was beheaded at Emperor Nero's order. As a Roman citizen, Saint Paul could not be executed within the city. The legend is that Paul's head bounced three times and fountains sprang up at each spot; hence, the title of "Three Fountains." Actually, fountains already existed at the site when Paul was beheaded. Three altars were built over the three springs from which water gushed until they were capped in 1950 due to concerns of water pollution.
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CC BY-NC-SA 4.0