The Baroque Churches

of the
Philippines
Spanish-Colonial Architecture

Prof. Rondell C. Gascon

PARTDES
 History of
Philippine Architecture

• Architecture in the Philippines today is the result of a

natural growth enriched with the absorption of varied
influences.
• It developed from the pre-colonial influences of our
neighboring Malay brothers, continuing on to the Spanish
colonial period, the American Commonwealth period,
and the modern contemporary times.
• As a result, the Philippines has become an architectural
melting pot-- uniquely Filipino with a tinge of the
occidental.
 History of
Philippine Architecture
• The arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th
century brought in Antillian architecture.
• Though not specifically suited for the hot
tropics, European architecture was
transposed via Acapulco, Mexico into a
uniquely Filipino style.
• The style traces its roots from the Antilles,
in Central America rather than from
mother Spain.
 History of
Philippine Architecture
• Christianization of the islands created the need to
establish religious structures to support the growing
number of religious organizations. Though they don't
compare with those seen in Europe or in Latin America,
Philippine colonial churches are unique in their own
sense.
• These colonial churches were typically designed by
anonymous friar-architects and built between 1600 and
1750.
• Most were initially constructed with bamboo and nipa,
but the friars realized that to instill a sense of awe, as
well as to caution against the terrible menace of fire and
earthquake, more grandiose buildings had to be erected
 Precursors and features of Baroque
architecture

• In the 17th century, the baroque style spread through Europe and Latin
America, where it was particularly promoted by the Jesuits.

Important features of baroque architecture include:

• long, narrow naves are replaced by broader, occasionally circular forms

• dramatic use of light, either strong light-and-shade contrasts,
chiaroscuro effects or uniform lighting by means of several windows
• opulent use of ornaments
• large-scale ceiling frescoes
• the external facade is often characterized by a dramatic central
projection
• the interior is often no more than a shell for painting and sculpture
(especially in the late baroque)
• illusory effects and the blending of painting and architecture
 The Baroque Churches
• Currently, 26 baroque churches that have
been identified as National Cultural
Treasures for their cultural significance
and distinctive architecture have
undergone or still undergoing restoration
headed by the National Commission for
Culture and Arts (NCCA).
 4 Baroque Churches of the Philippines
included in the UNESCO List of World
Heritage Sites

1. San Agustin Church: District of Intramuros, City

of Manila (1993)
2. Church of La Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion:
Municipality of Santa Maria, Province of Ilocos
Sur San Agustin: (1993)
3. Church of San Agustin: Municipality of Paoay,
Province of Ilocos Norte Santo Tomas: (1993)
4. Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva:
Municipality of Miag-ao, Province of Iloilo: (1993)
NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA ASUNCION
Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur
 UNESCO World Heritage Site
Sta. Maria Church
• Nuestra Señora de la
Asuncion in Santa
Maria town of Ilocos
Sur
• Its citadel complex
was the hub for
evangelizing
indigenous peoples
living in adjacent
highlands
• This church is unique
among Philippine
churches since it was
situated on a hill elevated
from the central town
plaza.
• The hill is surrounded by
a retaining wall on all
sides.
• The church’s bell tower
consists of stacked
octagonal horizontal
cross-sections of
decreasing diameter
• The best way to
appreciate the catholic
church's architectural
mood is to ascend the
church's grand stairway
of 85 wide steps starting
at the town proper.
• Another stairway
descends to a circular
cemetery overwhelmed
by exuberant foliage and
an air of romanticism.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH
Paoay, Ilocos Norte
• Father Pedro G. Galende, O.S.A. in his book Angels in Stone writes
about Paoay Church: “It is like a huge barn-like structure with an
intimations of a Borobodur temple (Indonesia) rather than a Christian
church...
• “There is massiveness, movement, integration and above all, a forceful
sweep of illusion that says a great deal of Filipino ingenuity...”
• “The result is outstading and undeniably Filipino type of
Architecture...typically Filipino...”
Borobodur temple (Indonesia)
• Built from 1694 to between 1702 and 1710, this catholic church is the
premier example of Philippine Earthquake Baroque, an architectural
solution to the area's challenging, natural setting.
• The facade is divided vertically by square pilasters that extends from
the ground all the way to the top of the pediment
• The walls are 1.67 meters thick constructed using de capaza and
bricks fused with lime mortar.
• Both sides of the
nave are lined with
the most
voluminous stone
buttresses seen
around the islands.
• They are decorated
with huge scrolls,
and topped by
decorative
pinnacles.
Buttresses make Paoay church an
“Earthquake-baroque” church
• The present bell tower,
constructed much later in 1793,
is made of coral stones and
lime powder with molasses as
binder.
• The Paoay Bell tower was
occupied by the Katipuneros in
1899.
• Also used as observation post
by the Filipino guerillas during
World War II.
Paoay Church featured in
Philippine Stamp
CHURCH OF SANTO TOMAS
DE VILLANUEVA
Miag-ao,Iloilo
 UNESCO World Heritage Site
Miag-ao Church
• Miag-ao's church is "the
most outstanding example
of the peripheral baroque
style blended with
embellishment [from] folk
motifs found in the
Philippines,"
• This is according to the
1992 report of Jorge
Gazano, an architectural
expert of ICOMOS, the
United Nations'
International Committee for
Monuments and Sites
• Church features:
• profusely ornamented church-front.
• Reigning over its fully hand-sculptured pediment is St. Christopher, dressed Filipino-
farmer style with his pants rolled up, and carrying the Christ Child on his back.
 UNESCO World Heritage Site
Miag-ao Church

• The holy figures stand beside coconut,

papaya and guava trees ready for harvest.
• They were rendered by folk artisans
working from their imagination and
whatever guidance the priest, who had no
architectural training, could offer.
• No similar tropical-Asian composition
exists.
• the façade is a mixture of
decorative styles–
Classical, Baroque,
Rococo–all linked by
tropical fantasy in a
design uniquely
Philippine.
• For this synthesis and
reinterpretation of foreign
influences, Miagao
church is called a World
Heritage Site.
• The Church walls was said to be
1.5meters thick and made from glued
limestones and egg whites since there
weren’t any cements at that time.
• The two flanking bell towers on the side
which also doubles as a watchtower were
made in different times, the left tower
when facing the church is older than the
other.
Miag-ao Cemetery
• Architectural
Feature:
• The cemetery of
Miagao is made of
red bricks and
yellow sand stone. 
• It has three
Romanesque
entrances and a
brick dome. The
structure is
octagonal and is
obviously in early
renaissance form. 
SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH
Intramuros, Manila
 UNESCO World Heritage Site
San Agustin Church

• Built from 1586 to 1606 inside Intramuros, the Walled

City where the city of Manila began, San Agustin
Catholic church is the oldest extant Christian sanctuary
in the Far East, and the Philippines' oldest stone edifice.
• It marks the start of using permanent materials in
contrast to indigenous, lightweight architectural media.
• San Agustin’s left
bell tower was
damaged in a
Manila earthquake
in 1880.
• The church must
have survived
more or less than
300 mild and
strong
earthquakes since
it was built 500
years ago.
 UNESCO World Heritage Site
San Agustin Church
• The only church within Intramuros to
survive the destruction of World War II,
• this structure features 19th century
handpainted trompe l’oeil in its interior as
well as the country’s earliest dated retablo,
pulpit, choir lectern, and choir stalls.
• The magnificent retablo is alive with
antique images tucked into gilded niches.
San Agustin Dome ceiling detail
San Agustin corridor
18 century chandelier
th
San Agustin choir loft
• San Agustin church because of its brilliant, rich and
miraculous history is one of the most sought after
Catholic institution for personal events like matrimony,
baptism and others, as well as a favorite destination of
tourists and devotion for pilgrims.
• A typical preparation for a San Agustin
church wedding.
• Reservation should be made more or less
that 2 years before the wedding ceremony.
 Epitaph seen on the floor of
San Agustin

• The church also features a crypt which houses the

remains of Manila’s founder, Miguel López de Legaspi,
Filipino patriot and artist Juan Luna, and other prominent
and historical figures.
Early Architectural Plans of other
Spanish Colonial Structures

• Floor Plan
and
elevation of
Binondo
Church and
towers
• Façade of the monastery of San Juan de Dios.
• The merging of West with East is obvious in this façade:
the front of the building is in the El Escorial or Carmelite
style, and is flanked by Chinese-style towers.
• Monastery of San Juan de Dios. Mapas de América y
Filipinas en los libros españoles de los siglos XVI y
XVIII
• In 1656, the medical friars of San Juan de Dios took
charge of the hospital of the Brotherhood of Mercy. In
1850, the hospital of San Juan de Dios was sited next to
the Parian gate.
• Tower of the Santa
Cruz church. 1850-
1898.
• Many of the towers of
Philippine churches
comprise a series of
sections whose girth
decreases as they
climb upwards.
• Their shape and
dimensions are
reminiscent of the
composition of other
Asiatic styles of
architecture
Other Spanish-Colonial Churches
in the Philippines
• MOLO Church
• Architectural
Features:  
• Both the exterior and
interior are Gothic-
Renaissance in style.
• The exterior is
decorated with
geometric arch windows
and Doric Columns.
• The shape of the church
visibly forms a cross, in
other words the
structure is like a
Basilica. 
• JARO
METROPOLITAN
CATHEDRAL
• Architectural
Features: 
• The Pseudo- Gothic
style of Jaro is
actually a
combination of
Renaissance and
Baroque
Architectures.
• The Church is made
out of white hewn
stones and
concrete. 
• The interior of 
Jaro Cathedral is
the opposite of
Molo church's
interior.
• Here
Romanesque and
Baroque
Architecture
flourished.
• There are three
baroque altars
and Male Saints
stand on each
pillar.
• San Jose Parish
Church (Iloilo City)
• Architectural
Feature: 
• The whole
structure is
obviously Neo-
classical in the
simplest form.
• The facade is a
one-story affair
flanked with
Tuscan columns
and rose windows.
• There is a statued
niche on the
center of the
triangular
pediment
 Cabatuan
Church

• The Psuedo-Baroque exterior of the church is actually Neoclassic style in

the severest form.
• Twinned Tuscan Pilasters dominate the facade and the first and second
levels of the church is separated by a thick Byzantine cornice.
• The Bell-domed bell towers give the Neoclassic church a Baroque
roundness and massiveness.
• The interior of the Church is like a Basilica, it has three
baroque-neoclassic altars made out of lime stone.
• A unique feature of the church is a tabular marble altar at
the intersection of the central nave and the two wings.
• There is a pair of wooden pulpits which are heavily
carved.
• San Joaquin
Church
• Architectural
features
• The only church in
the Philippines
sporting a Bas-relief
about Tetuan's
battle in Morocco
• The bas-relief used
as the facade proves
that the structure is
extremely baroque.
• The windows frames
are heavily
decorated with floral
and shell carvings.
• Cherubs are
used as
additional
ornaments to
the facade.
• The faces of the
Saints at the
church looks so
Oriental rather
than European.  
 Exercise no. 5
• 1. Using your OSLO and drawing
materials, create a DESIGN for the façade
(the front part only) of a Spanish-colonial
church.
• 2. Be guided with the characteristics of
Filipino and Spanish Baroque styles
fusion.
• 3. Provide labels and short explanation of
your design (concept, materials used,
motif, etc.).