Historical Churches of Iloilo

Miagao Church, Iloilo, World Heritage Site

Miagao Church or Santo Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church

The Miag-ao Church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with three other colonial Baroque churches under the collective title, Baroque Churches of the Philippines. Please follow this link for my article on Miagao Church:
https://travelswithcharie.blogspot.com/2014/03/miag-ao-church.html

Fortress Towers of Miagao Church

The two belltowers are of unequal height and served as watchtowers following Islamic invasions in 1741 and 1754.

Main Altar, Miagao Church

The gold-plated retablo is the original altar used in the late 1700s and was found during excavations in 1982. A fire had ravaged the church in 1910 and it was believed the retablo had been razed as well.

Guimbal Church or San Nicolas de Tolentino

Guimbal Church is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It was built in 1774 and restored twice, once after World War II and after the earthquake of 1948 which also destroyed the Jaro Cathedral.

Guimbal Church Wall

The Romanesque inspired walls of Guimbal Church have withstood the ravages of time.

Molo Church or Saint Anne Parish Church

The Molo Church is called the "feminist" church for the 16 statues of female saints on each side of the central nave. The belltowers and main altar are Neo Gothic in style. Saint Anne Parish Church has been around since 1831.

Jaro Cathedral or Nuestra Señora de Candelaria

The Jaro Cathedral or Nuestra Señora de Candelaria was constructed in 1874 in the Romanesque Revival style. It was damaged by an earthquake in 1948 and restored in 1956. This church has been proclaimed a National Shrine by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. The feast of Our Lady of Candles is celebrated annually in February.

Choir loft of Jaro Cathedral

The interior of the Jaro Cathedral is finely decorated with frescoes such as the one depicted above the choir loft.

Where to stay:

Seda Atria Hotel

Donata Pison Avenue, Iloilo City

sedahotels.com

Convenient location, choice of restaurants and shops next door at The Shops at Atria, Iloilo Business Park and Convention Center are 5 minutes away, easy parking.

*****

Images by TravelswithCharie

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was...

Timbulan ng Laya at Diwang Dakila

Timbulan ng Laya at Diwang Dakila, Carlos Botong Francisco, 1968, oil on canvas In 1963, Mayor Antonio Villegas wrote a report, Building a Better Manila, where he indicated in detail his accomplishments on his first year as Mayor of Manila and his vision for the future of the city. Villegas aspired for a prosperous Manila by providing its residents access to health, family and housing services, opportunities for education and employment and improved infrastructure for water and road systems. *Notice the hands at the top of the painting. These hands symbolize the protective reach of God over the city of Manila. Central Panel On either side of the seal of Manila are the former mayors of the city. At the bottom are the city’s old seals. Seal of Manila adopted in 1965 under Mayor Antonio Villegas Timbulan ng Laya (Beacon of Freedom) at Diwang Dakila (Noble Spirit) are written on the seal. A sunburst with 15 rays cast light across the canvas. Below the sun, in red, is the Baybayin let...

Masaganang Ani by Vicente Silva Manansala

Masaganang Ani (Bountiful Harvest), oil on canvas, 1962 The International Rice Institute of the Philippines (IRRI) was founded in the Philippines in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with the support of the Philippines government. The goal of IRRI is “to improve livelihoods, abolish poverty, hunger and malnutrition among those who depend on rice based agri-food systems”. Their headquarters is in Los Baños, Laguna. These two Manansala large scale paintings were commissioned by IRRI in 1962 to depict Filipino life, labor and leisure activities. The paintings were hung on the walls of the dining room and cafeteria at its headquarters. These weren’t ideal places to hang the canvasses because the smoke from the kitchen and the cleaning solutions used by the staff threatened the paintings. They are now on loan to the National Museum of the Philippines which declared these two masterpieces as National Cultural Treasures. In Masaganang Ani, Manansala chose themes celebrating th...

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