Southern Heritage Tour

Greco Roman Architecture

Sta. Catalina de Alejandria (Carcar)

Baroque-Rococco Architecture
y San Miguel el Arcangel (Argao) y San Guillermo (Dalaguete) y Patrocinio de Maria (Boljoon)

Gothic Architecture (High and Late Medieval Period)

Nuestra Seora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Sibonga)

Greco-Roman Architecture

Greco-Roman architecture is abundant in columns and size. There are two primary types of Greco-Roman architecture, Doric and Ionic. Examples of Doric architecture are the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, while the Erechtheum, which is located right next to the Parthenon, is Ionic.

Ionic Greco-Roman architecture tends to be more decorative than the formal Doric styles. The most surviving buildings of Greco-Roman Architecture lean towards the temples, due to the building material used, although limestone does decay over time with natural erosion.

Sta. Catalina de Alejandria (Carcar)

The three tiered Greco-Roman facade of the church of Carcar is simple yet elegant. The interplay of planes, arches and quaint details make this tall and compact church one of the unforgettable structures in this island province.

Details of the Bell Towers

The present church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in the southern town of Carcar, probably the third or second, was built by the Augustinians between 1860-1875.

Construction was started by Fr. Antonio Manglano and was finished during the time of Fr. Fernandez Rubio. Carcar itself is a gem of a town that features a number of well-preserved Spanish and American period houses and edifices.

The Main Facade of the Church

Flanking the main entrance are solid and thick buttresses plainly rendered and are capped with the twin belfries. Taming the vertical thrust of the structure is the massive arch that softens the facade as well as draws the eye.

The church is one of the few well-built stone churches in Cebu judging from the harmony in design and the careful layout. It is perhaps the only Spanish colonial church in the island built with a main nave that is flanked on both sides with a low structure that serve as the aisles.

The Interiors

The architecture of the church features various influences particularly Islamic and Greco-Roman. The onion-type dome that caps each of the twin belfries on the other hand resembles those of Orthodox churches in Europe while the main altar inside the church is GrecoRoman as described by Fr. Pedro Galende, OSA, an Augustinian historian.

The Walls and the Flooring are Dotted with Tombstones

Making it more unique among other churches in Cebu are the various tombstones dotted on certain parts of the walls, the flooring, and the piers.

Gothic Architecture (High and Late Medieval Period)

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture.

Originating in 12th century France and lasting into the 16th century, Gothic architecture was known during the period as "the French Style" (Opus Francigenum), with the term Gothic first appearing during the latter part of the Renaissance. Its characteristic features include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress.

Nuestra Seora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Sibonga)

Sibonga was established as a visita of Carcar in 1690 and was later put under Argao s jurisdiction. Becoming an independent parish, construction of the church began between 1846-1868 and completed during the term of Fr. Enrique Magaz in 1881. The parish house nearby was built earlier in 1839 by Bishop Santos Gomez Maraon.

The church was restored in 1907 and consecrated by Msgr. Jeremias Harty, archbishop of Manila, with the assistance of Msgr. Thomas Hendrick, bishop of Cebu, Msgr. Juan Gorordo and seventeen other priests.

The Painted Ceiling of the Interiors

Early century paintings by the famed Cebuano painter Raymundo Francia mesmerizes the visitor. The ceiling of the side aisles has a painted version of the Carcar coffered ceiling woodwork.

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A View of the Choir Loft

The style of the church is Gothic. A high main entrance dominates the facade flanked with two massive bell towers. The decorations are quite scant and the facade simple with the rosette at the pediment the only interesting detail sporting the Augustinian seal in wrought iron.

The Rectory built in 1839 by Bishop Santos Gomes Maraon

Main staircase leading to the upper Cloister of the Rectory

Hallway of the Rectory

Baroque-Rococco Architecture

Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the era, starting in the late 16th century in Italy, that took the humanist Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical, theatrical, sculptural fashion, expressing the triumph of absolutist church and state. The style was characterized by new architectural concerns for color, light and shade, sculptural values and intensity.

San Miguel el Arcangel (Argao)

The church of St. Michael the Archangel in Argao was built in 1783 during the time of Fr. Francisco Espina who was the parish priest from 1782 to 1798. The church bears a striking resemblance with the St. William the Hermit Church in Dalaguete.

The Church

The architecture of the church is baroque with some touches of rococco. Intricate carvings of angels and floral motifs adorn the facade, the side entrances and the perimeter wall of the church plaza. The rectory is connected to the church while the bell tower stands apart from it but is connected by a low structure that serves as the baptistry.

Details of the church plaza s perimeter wall

A side entrance with a carved relief above bearing the year 1783.

Puerta Marina

One of the three portals of the pueblo. The entire church complex plus other Spanish colonial buildings and structures were once enclosed by a wall of stone. Parts of the wall still exist.

A side altar

An unplayable Pipe Organ

The painted ceilings depicting scenes from the bible

Retablo

The main altar retablo which recently became controversial after the parish priest had the statues painted with gold.

San Guillermo (Dalaguete)

Made from marble stones, San Guillermo de Aquitana Church in Dalaguete was established in 1690. Facing the sea and a beautiful patio, it has a huge bell tower that also serves as a watch tower during the Spanish era. The church has a baroque altar burnished in gold leaf and crystal chandeliers shipped by the Spanish galleons of yore

The facade of the church

The facade is divided into three horizontal levels and bears a resemblance with the St. Michael the Archangel church in Argao. The free standing bell tower which was built between 1850-1860 by Fr. Juan Alonso is connected to the southern part of the church via a low structure. This low structure is sometimes referred to as the camarin delos campaneros or the bell ringer s quarters although in the case of Dalaguete it houses the baptistry.

The interiors of the church

The painted ceiling

The painted ceilings of the interiors done in 1935 by Canuto Avila, a famous Cebuano sculptor and painter.

Buttresses supporting the walls

Main Altar

Bell of the Church

The largest bell hanging freely at the middle. The oldest bell dated 1805.

Patrocinio de Maria (Boljoon)

The facade of the church

This church is the oldest remaining original stone church in Cebu and was declared for conservation and restoration in 1998. Similar to the churches of Argao and Dalaguete, the Nuestra Senora Virgen del Patrocinio church has a pseudo baroque rococo design. Fronting the church was a newly constructed park that has a free wifi zone

Boljoon was established as a visita of Carcar in 1599 by the Augustinians and became an independent vicariate on October 31, 1690. It was abandoned due to lack of personnel and was handed over to the Jesuits in 1737 although it reverted back to the Augustinians in 1747. The present day church was built in 1783 and is the only church in Cebu today that is in its most original form. An earlier church built in the 17th century was gutted down.

Entrance to the Church Complex

The bell tower currently undergoing restoration as of September 2007

The Painted Ceiling

The blockhouse within the complex where artillery was once mounted at the roofed parapet