Built Tradition of the Balon at the Nuestra Señora de Caysasay Church-Convent Complex

Only a few Spanish-colonial churches in the country have water wells. We feature one of the wells, a richly decorated arch known as Balon de Santa Lucia, for today’s #BuiltTraditionThursday. It is among the assemblage of structures in the Nuestra Señora de Caysasay Church-Convent complex in Taal, Batangas, collectively declared as a National Cultural Treasure. 

Built on sloping terrain and located about 120-meters eastward from Caysasay church, the arch frontage is facing northward, and its rectangular plan measures about 4 meters in width and 16 meters in length. Abutting the frontage is a rectangular basin surrounded by low walls of clay-brick finish. Reaching about six meters high, the structure consists of two piers and is crowned with a semi-circular pediment, that contains stone relief with the Our Lady of Caysasay as the central figure. 

The elaborately carved coral-stone arch stands on a rectangular base made of adobe stones. The base, about 1.5 meters high, has two arched openings, each leading to the left and right well-shaft. A meter-wide arch opens to each well, which is estimated to be 3.40-meter (11 ft) deep on the left and 1.80-meter (6 ft) deep on the right. Signs of a previously attached pulley on the walls of each well-shaft were observed. 

Piers support the arch structure’s pediment. The east pier connects to a large boulder that contributes to its stability. Each pier has a pair of engaged columns (a curved shaft that is built and partially projected from the surface of the wall). The frieze, embellished with fern carvings, skirts atop of the pier section. 

Dressed coral stones crown the arch structure and compose the semi-circular pediment. Nearly square in shape, cut coral stones comprise the heavily decorated tympanum (a recessed space forming the center of a pediment). The relief showcases the image of the Our Lady of Caysasay, flanked with small, winged angels on both sides and enclosed within a cartouche; below it is a large image of a cherub. On both sides of the blessed virgin’s cartouche, are vases, where carvings of leaves and flowers spring from. 

The structure has vegetal growth; some of the stone blocks are missing and need repointing. To date, a system of metal shoring supports the structure, and a significant volume of vegetation was removed from its pediment. The Balon exhibits intricate stonework and represents a sacred veneration celebrated for centuries, both of high significance worthy of preservation and conservation. 

Text and illustration by Ar. Marie Bernadette Balaguer, rectified image of the Balon by Ar. Axel Catapang, Architectural drawing by NMP-FMD

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines