St. Pauls' Conversion Church (San Paolo) is called as 'Dome in the Countryside' as the parish church seems to have been constructed for a huge city. It is consecrated to Conversion of Paul the Apostle and located in the heart of the village. The huge bells in the 86 m high church steeple calls up for the Holy Mass with its deep tones.
In former times S. Paulo has been main village in the municipality of Appiano and numerous aristocrats have been settling down right here. As they wanted to manifest their wealth, they had this huge church constructed between 1484 and 1533 AD. The building time of the steeple lasted from the late 15th to 17th century, today it boasts Gothic and Baroque elements.
Particularly worth noticing is the sundial of 1718 and the monuments of the aristocratic families Firmian, Khuen and Thun.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.