The basilica was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I over the burial place of Saint Paul, where it was said that, after the Apostle's execution, his followers erected a memorial, called a cella memoriae. This first edifice was expanded under Valentinian I in the 370s.

In 386, Emperor Theodosius I began the erection of a much larger and more beautiful basilica with a nave and four aisles with a transept; the work including the mosaics was not completed until the pontificate of Leo I (440–461). In the 5th century it was larger than the Old St. Peter's Basilica. The Christian poet Prudentius, who saw it at the time of emperor Honorius (395–423), describes the splendours of the monument in a few expressive lines. As it was dedicated also to Saints Taurinus and Herculanus, martyrs of Ostia in the 5th century, it was called the basilica trium Dominorum ("basilica of Three Lords").

Under Gregory the Great (590–604) the basilica was extensively modified: the pavement was raised, in order to place the altar directly over Paul's tomb. A confession permitted access to the Apostle's sepulcher.

In that period there were two monasteries near the basilica: St. Aristus's for men and St. Stefano's for women. Masses were carried out by a special body of clerics instituted by Pope Simplicius. In the course of time the monasteries and the clergy of the basilica declined; Pope Saint Gregory II restored the former and entrusted the monks with the care of the basilica.

As it lay outside the Aurelian 蛹的 Walls, the basilica was damaged during the Saracen 撒拉森人阿拉伯人(十字军时代的)伊斯兰教徒 invasions in the 9th century. In consequence of this Pope John VIII (872–882) fortified the basilica, the monastery, and the dwellings of the peasantry, forming the town of Joannispolis (Italian: Giovannipoli) which existed until 1348, when an earthquake totally destroyed it.

In 937, when Saint Odo of Cluny came to Rome, Alberic II of Spoleto, Patrician of Rome, entrusted the monastery and basilica to his congregation and Odo placed Balduino of Monte Cassino in charge. Pope Gregory VII was abbot of the monastery and in his time Pantaleone, a rich merchant of Amalfi who lived in Constantinople, presented the bronze doors of the basilica maior, which were executed by Constantinopolitan artists; the doors are inscribed with Pantaleone's prayer that the "doors of life" may be opened to him. Pope Martin V entrusted it to the monks of the Congregation of Monte Cassino. It was then made an abbey nullius. The jurisdiction of the abbot extended over the districts of Civitella San Paolo, Leprignano and Nazzano, all of which formed parishes; the parish of San Paolo in Rome, however, is under the jurisdiction of the cardinal vicar.

o Catacombs

The catacombs are made up of underground tunnels in the form of a labyrinth. They can reach the total number of many miles In the tufaceous walls of this intricate system of galleries were cut out rows of rectangular niches, called "loculi 迷宫；曲径", of various dimensions, which could contain only one body, but not infrequently the remains of more than one person. The burials of the early Christians were extremely poor and simple. The corpses, in imitation of Christ, were wrapped in a sheet or shroud and placed in the loculi without any kind of coffin.The loculi were closed with a slab of marble or, in most cases, by tiles fixed by mortar. On the tombstone the name of the deceased was sometimes engraved, along with a Christian symbol or a wish that the person might find peace in heaven. Oil lamps and small vases containing perfumes would often be placed beside the tombs.

The structure of the tombs, arranged in rows superimposed one upon another at different levels, gave one the idea of a vast dormitory, called cemetery, a term coming from Greek and meaning "resting place". In this way the Christians wanted to affirm their faith in the resurrection of the bodies.

There were, besides the loculi 室,胞,房, other types of tombs down in the catacombs: the arcosolium, the sarcophagus, the forma, the cubiculum and the crypt.

The arcosolium, a tomb typical of the third and of the fourth century, is a much larger niche with an arch above it. The marble-tomb covering was placed horizontally. They usually served as the burial chamber for entire families.

The sarcophagus is a stone- or marble-coffin, usually adorned with sculptured reliefs or inscriptions.

The forma is a tomb dug into the floor of a crypt, of a cubiculum or of a gallery. They were very numerous near the martyrs' tombs.

The cubicula (meaning "bedrooms") were small rooms, truly family tombs, with a capacity of several loculi. The use of a family tomb was not a privilege reserved to the rich. The cubicles and the arcosoliums were frequently decorated with frescoes portraying biblical scenes and reproducing the themes of Baptism, Eucharist 圣餐;圣体 and Resurrection symbolized by the cycle of Jona.

The Crypt is a bigger room. Under Pope Damasus, many of the martyrs' tombs were converted into crypts, that is into small underground churches embellished with paintings, mosaics or other decorations.

The catacombs were the exclusive work of a specialized guild of workers called "fossores" ("gravediggers").They dug gallery after gallery by the faint light of their lamps and used baskets or bags to carry the earth away, also through the lucemaria ("sky-lights") opened in the vault of a crypt or of a cubicle or along the galleries. The lucemaria were ample shafts which reached the surface. When the work of excavation was finished, they remained opened as a vent for air and light, as a means of ventilation and lighting.

The ancient Christians did not use the term "catacomb". This is a word of Greek origin, meaning "near the hollow". The Romans applied it to a locality on the Appian

阿皮安 Way, where there were caves for the removal of tuff凝灰岩 blocks. Nearby were dug the catacombs of Saint Sebastian. In the ninth century the term was extended to all cemeteries, with the specific sense of underground cemetery.

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