Baroque Catholic Churches
Philippine Cultural Heritage

The Philippines' Baroque catholic churches are cited on the World Heritage List because of their unusual interpretation of a major artistic style. Baroque architecture, which was the dominant western style from around the mid-16th century until the death of France's Louis XIV shortly after 1700, reflects a life dominated by the desire to impress through exuberance and extravagance.

Although the style has produced celebrated works, it takes its name from barroco - Spanish for a large, irregular, and expensive pearl considered bizarre rather than beautiful. Baroque evolved as Europe was undergoing relentless religious wars; architecture and its ornamentation became tools to woo a congregation's loyalty. The Filipino brand of baroque began in the late 16th century when Catholic missionaries came from Spain and Mexico. The local version contrasts with courtly Europe's rendition - although at first glance, there are the familiar gilding, florid floral themes, fully decorated pillars and fancy backgrounds.

Four catholic churches in particular are considered of unquestionable importance to understanding the baroque attitude and human creativity.

Santo Tomas de Villanueva
Miag-ao, Iloilo

In Central Philippines, on the island of Panay, is the Vicarate of Miag-ao in Iloilo Province. Its Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva is an Augustinian mission station built as a squat, massive fortress to protect townsfolk from Muslim invasion. Made of a distinct local yellow-orange sandstone, the fortress-catholic church took ten years to build, beginning in 1797.

Miag-ao's church is "the most outstanding example of the peripheral baroque style blended with embellishment [from] native folk motifs found in the Philippines," according to the 1992 report of Jorge Gazano, an architectural expert of ICOMOS, the United Nations' International Committee for Monuments and Sites.

Any visitor will be able to translate the jargon into layman's language just by looking at the 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.

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.

Built in 1797 under the direction of the Augustinian order, the church is one of the most successful examples n the exuberant Philippine Translation of western baroque design principles into a hybrid local style. The church’s architectural composition follows the box-like structure attached to the rear of a pediment façade. Non-symmetrical bell towers, squat at the bottom but tapering upwards solidly anchor each side of the façade. The deeply incised relief carving gives the façade a remarkable three-dimensional quality. The nalf carving depicts Saint Christopher dressed as a Filipino farmer, carrying the young Christ on his shoulders across a river set within a luxuriant field of primitively carved, out of scale representations of Filipino flora and fauna. In keeping with the nalf character of the ensemble, the architectural details are likewise very exaggerated in scale. (Augusto Villalon)

Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion
Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur

Another mission that doubled originally as a fortress is Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria town of Ilocos Sur, a province on the country's northwestern seaboard. The citadel complex was the hub for evangelizing pagan peoples living in adjacent highlands.

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.

Built in 1765 under the direction of the Agustinian order, the ensemble resembles a citadel sited on the crest of a solitary hill rising above one side of the Santa Maria town plaza. The architectural ensemble presents its side and detached pagoda-like bell tower rather than its façade to the town. Thick contrafuetes (buttresses) are attached to the walls, reinforcing the structure against earthquake damage. The bell tower is constructed a distance away, protecting the main church structure from possible earthquake damage. Approached on foot by ascending a long, wide flight of piedra china, steps that rising from the edge of the town plaza, the small, cramped plaza at the top of the steps is bounded by the church façade that faces the convento, enclosed by an arcaded bridge that connects both structures. (Augusto Villalon)

Church of San Agustin
Paoay, Ilocos Norte

Moving northwards into the adjacent province of Ilocos Norte is the Church of San Agustin in Paoay town. 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.

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.

A coralstone belltower stands a safe distance away to spare the sanctuary in case of collapse. Originally, the church roof was thatched; and it is conjectured so that buttresses not only support walls but give roof access during fire and typhoon.

Built in 1710 under the direction of the Agustinian order, the ensemble of the church and detached bell towers are truly majestic in scale when viewed from the edge of the plaza that faces the ensemble. Detached from the church façade the bell tower tapers as it rises from the ground in a fashion reminiscent of a pagoda. The stone façade is plain at the bottom. Light, elegant decorative carving is applied close to the top of the pediment. A row of feathery stone finials that seem to gently brush the sky with delicate Oriental strokes accentuate the triangular top of the pediment. The earthquake protection system in this structure is probably its most dramatic feature. Exaggeratedly thick buttresses protrude quite a distance from the ground to be countered by a smaller volute near roof level topped by a stone finial. Swirling upwards to the sky, the massive stone buttresses take on a magical lightness. (Augusto Villalon)

San Agustin Catholic church
Intramuros, Manila

While the mission trio projects fine folk aesthetics, the last of the churches selected as baroque model is a grande dame of metropolitan achievement for the late 16th century.

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.

A plain exterior hides a sanctuary that attempts to bring heaven, in all its visual splendor, down to earth. The nave is a marvel of 19th-centry handpainted trompe-l'oeil. The magnificent retable is alive with antique images tucked into gilded niches.

Throughout the sanctuary, in the convent and rooms converted into museum displays, are rare works of art accumulated from Asia and the Philippines over the centuries. In a chapel beside the main altar, the last conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, is entombed.

Built in 1587 under the direction of the Augustinian order, this is the oldest existing Philippine Church and one of the few examples of an ecclesiastical complex specifically conceived for an urban setting. Originally built as the Agustinian Mother House, the complex includes the church, monasteries, cloisters and botanical gardens encompassing an entire city block in the walled city of Intramuros, Manila. The austere architecture is framed by a small plaza facing the principal church entrance that is perpendicular to the street. Structurally well protected against earthquake damage, the thick buttresses do not extend outwards from the exterior walls in the manner of most Philippine Colonial Churches. Instead, they are incorporated into the interior, forming a series of magnificent side chapels that line both sides of the church. San Agustin houses one of the country’s leading collections of ecclesiastical are and rare books. (Augusto Villalon)

Augusto F. Villalon is one of the country’s leading experts on heritage conservation. Aside from being the principal architect of A. Villalon Associates, he has served as technical advisor for UNESCO and UNIDO. He is a member of the Committee on Monuments and Sites of the NCCA and the Philippine World Heritage Committee secretariat.

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Additional Readings

• Binondo Church
• 26 Catholic Churches: National Cultural Treasures
• Significant Examples of Church Architecture in the Philippines
• Baroque Catholic Churches
• Bohol Churches