Comments on: UNESCO – Baroque Churches of the Philippines

By: wils grant

wils grant — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:09:05 +0000

HI! Grce, what about Sta. Ana Church in Sta. ANA, Manila..

By: Jick Dizon

Jick Dizon — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:35:20 +0000

Hi, Ms. Grace… Im currently working on my master’s thesis (Century-Old Churches in Pampanga), just to let you know that Pampanga also offers a lot of Spanish era churches…

More power…

Jick

By: Job

Job — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:59:14 +0000

2010 World Monument Watch List adds Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur church.
http://www.wmf.org/watch/project-map?list=1
Partial collapse of the wall.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:49:39 +0000

Hi Leslie, this list refers to the ones inscribed as a UNESCO Heritage Site. :) I hope the church in Argao would be included as well but it will the effort of your entire community to restore it to its former glory. You may also check with UNESCO regarding the process of nominating the Church to this prestigious list. Cheers!

By: Job

Job — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:55:53 +0000

Hi, Leslie!

You can refer to this site: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/state=ph
The following churches are being readied for inclusion (either under Baroque Churches extension, or under new entries, i.e., “Jesuit Churches of the Philippines” and “San Sebastian Church”):

Boljo-on, Cebu
Guiuan, Eastern Samar
Loboc, Bohol
Lazi, Siquijor
Tumauini, Isabela
Maragondon, Cavite
Baclayon, Bohol
San Sebastian Church

Just wanted to share. :-) I have other churches which deserve this title, but I guess ICOMOS Philippines has adifferent idea on which to be submitted.

Apart from the churches, I think UNESCO Philippines should work on an entry like: “Historic Center of Manila, Intramuros” or something to that effect. I believe this was already done in 1989; but was rejected by the Heritage Site convention.

By: leslie

leslie — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:31:30 +0000

good day everyone,
im leslie obiso of argao cebu…can st. michael the arachangel parish church of argao cebu be included in the baroque churches of the philippines. eventhough vandalism and mismanagement of renovation has undergone to it still it reatin its uniqueness as a baroque rococ church in souther cebu and it is ocnsidered as one of the richly furnished church in southern cebu. thanks….

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:55:23 +0000

Hi Job,

Yeah I already saw that official document about the 2010 nominations. Well, I guess it does take some time and much needed follow through for the listing on WHC. On another topic, the voting for the New 7 Wonders of Nature is back on with the selection the voting of the 21 finalists which includes the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River (the longest navigable underground river in the world). Please support it and spread the news around. Puerto Princesa was second in ranking after the Amazon in its category the last time. Thank you!

Re: Facebook in China, for some reasons my friends in Shanghai seem to be able to log on to Facebook today. That sucks though because Facebook was still on there the last time I visited China in 2007.

Cheers,

Ryan

By: Job

Job — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:20:28 +0000

An official document; seems no Philippine nominee site for 2010 World Heritage Committee.

http://whc.unesco.org/ > The 33rd session (2009) > Documents > WHC.09 /33.COM /INF.8B3
List of nominations received by 1 February 2009 for examination by the Committee at its 34th session (2010)

You can download the file and will see the 2010 hopefuls. Mount Apo shows incomplete status. :-( Will have to wait until 2011 for the next world heritage site in the RP.

Nevertheless, next year will be an interesting list. Looking forward to Hanoi, Hahoe and Yangdong (Korea), Matheran Train & Jantar Mantar (India).

P.S. at the moment, Facebook is banned in China. :-(

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:29:17 +0000

Ah yeah Santa Maria Church, we sadly skipped that one, it was out of the way when we went to Ilocos last month but yeah, apparently it has a very good vantage point and the design was a tad militaristic as well.

By: Job

Job — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:43:29 +0000

Back to Philippine history class… my great history professor in college once mentioned that because the Philippines is too far from Spain, it took a few years for businessmen to reach this new “colony.” From Acapulco to Manila, the boat ride takes a full year. Because of this, it has been said that the ones very eager to arrive in the new territory are religious missionaries.

One possibility is that the priests forgot to bring architects with them. So the churches were built based on how the missionaries remember the churches in Europe. Eventually, vernacular design of locals is incorporated with Western – creating a unique Baroque style. Church height is restricted, huge buttresses are added on the sides and bell towers are separated from the main church – designs which may be weird for a Westerner; but for the Philippine topography and climate, perfect. Oh, the churches are both a place of worship and a military post – Santa Maria church for example, is situated on a hill. On top of the tower, one can get a good view of the South China Sea and can be on guard to pirates and Moros.