The long and fascinating history of the abbey of Ss. Vincenzo e Anastasio at Tre Fontane near Rome reached back into Roman antiquity. An ancient martyrium marked the spot where the apostle Paul was believed to have been beheaded and three fountains said to have sprung up as his head hit the ground were places of pilgrimage and monastic habitation. Working with architectural, archaeological, epigraphic, and documentary evidence Joan Barclay Lloyd traces the vicissitudes of this historic monastery.