In this week’s #BuiltTraditionThursday, we feature the Church of the Immaculate Conception of San Agustin, Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture—more commonly known as the San Agustin Church—in Intramuros, Manila City. 

The outstanding universal value of the church as a cultural and artistic monument makes it not just a nationally recognized Cultural Treasure and Historical Landmark, but since 1993 the San Agustin Church has been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the four Baroque Churches of the Philippines. This all-stone church complex, completed in 1607, is the oldest stone church in the country, being relatively unchanged since its construction. San Agustin is built out of locally quarried adobe stone and lime mortar, and is designed in the Neoclassical-Baroque style. The floor plan of the church is that of a Latin cross within a rectangular boundary, with three aisles. Its Neoclassical-Baroque aesthetic is emphasized by the Ionic and Corinthian columns adorning its façade, its rose window, triangular pediment, and symmetricity. Furthermore, the intricately carved bas-relief on the main wooden doorways is distinctly proto-Baroque.

The interior of the church contains several distinct architectural features.  For one, the central nave of the church is topped by a barrel vault (also called boveda or media caña), broken by wall separations that divide the nave into six sections. The church is recognized as one of the few structures in the Philippines constructed with true barrel vaulting. A unique feature of the structural interior are the series of chapels lining both sides of the nave, these are originally fourteen cryptocollateral chapels, seven on either side of the nave; the walls separating these chapels act as buttresses (or structural supports), in the same manner as wandpfeiler (wall pillars) of German Baroque churches.

Directly above the narthex (or entry) of the church is the resplendent choir loft, another distinct feature. It is supported by two elliptical stone arches, accessible through an antechoir via the east corridor of the adjoining convent-monastery. The choir loft is notable for its sixty-eight carved molave stalls with fine inlay—made in 1606 under Fr. Miguel Serrano—and its extant narra wood construction, including its wooden railing. The choir loft also features a large, sculptural lectern imported from Macao in 1731.  Extensive restoration works have been conducted on the choir loft by Escuella Taller de Filipinas Foundation, Inc., from 2015 to 2018.

A vast majority of the interior space of the church is painted in artistic trompe l’oeil, including all the interior wall surfaces, ceiling, and dome soffit. Cesare Alberoni and Giovanni Dibella—Italian scenographers—were contracted in 1875 to execute the realistic imagery. Motifs of their Neoclassical revival style include wreaths, cornucopias, festoons, fleurettes, and Christian symbols and personages.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of San Agustin–Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture, assessed in its current condition, remains in a generally fair state of conservation. Critical areas regarding its maintenance due to its advanced age and modernized environment are known to the national cultural agencies, UNESCO, and key relevant authorities. The preservation and conservation of this World Heritage Site is of rightfully paramount concern, to allow the future generations of Filipinos—and all the peoples of the world—to appreciate its enduring outstanding universal value.

For today’s #BuiltTraditionThursday, we are featuring one of the many towns in the Southern Tagalog rich with built heritage: the town of Sampaloc, and its old Spanish-era bridge.

One of the pride of Southern Tagalog built heritage is the abundance of Spanish-era bridges, which is most common in the province of Quezon. Most of these bridges were built through the suggestion of the Franciscan friars, who governed the ecclesiastical province of San Gregorio Magno de Filipinas, which exercised jurisdiction over the then-Provincia de Tayabas. Engineer Antonio de la Camara of the Office of Public Works led the creation of bridges as part of a series of civil projects by the government during the last quarter of the 19th century. These bridges are clustered among the towns surrounding Mount Banahaw; Majayjay in Laguna, and Lucban, Tayabas town, and Pagbilao, in Tayabas Province.

Provincia de Tayabas was not as accessible as Batangas, Laguna, or Cavite during the Spanish colonial period. Distance and bad roads–or lack thereof–hampered access to and from the province. Most travels were undertaken with steamboats from Manila via the Pasig River, into the Laguna de Bay, and docking in the town of Santa Cruz, from which the travelers have the option of taking a carromata to Pagsanjan, or a banca up the Rio de Pagsanjan. Travelers would then proceed by foot or horse to Tayabas town (the former provincial capital) or Lucban. The trip would usually take several days and requires the traveler to stop and rest in other towns along the way. It was common to visit the parish priest who would provide meager lodging in the church’s convent. Another trail to Tayabas town began from the mountain towns of Laguna; from Pagsanjan, travelers would go by carromata, horse, or by foot to the towns of Cavinti and Luisiana, ride up the mountain, and proceed towards Lucban and Tayabas town. This journey would similarly take the same number of days and be less traveled as opposed to the Majayjay route, which during the colonial period was a favorite destination. The more circuitous route was by boat to the port of Lucena, and then by carromata or by foot to Tayabas town. 

The Municipality of Sampaloc used to be a Barrio called Dingin in Lucban, consisting of three sitios. It was later renamed Sampaloc because of the presence of a large tamarind tree found in the center of the settlement during the earlier days. During that time, road and bridge projects were common, in order to provide connectivity and safe mobility to residents and visitors alike. The road from Sampaloc to Lucban begins by trail from the población down the river banks of the Maapon River, and crossing the tributary river in which the old bridge is situated. From the bridge, the trail would continue to Barrio Bayongon and cross several plains and hills to Barrio Piis, a barangay of Lucban leading to the town proper. 

This particular bridge was built in Sitio Kakati, Barangay Bataan, Sampaloc, Quezon in 1888. It stretches 18.20 meters across the entire river and does not have any central piers in the water for support. The internal segmented arch has a 12.05-meter distance from the two 3.07-meter pillars. The unreinforced masonry has a facing stone made of volcanic tuff/ adobe blocks (or locally called ‘dado’) which range from 0.50 by 0.30 meters each. The presence of dirt and black deposits with vegetal growth and higher plants have caused minor losses on stone facings and moldings. The lack of human intervention in the bridge for the past few centuries makes it authentic to its original architectural character, while the pillars supporting the arch remain intact with no signs of deformation, indicating that the bridge has a stable foundation and sub-structure.

Recognizing its historical and cultural importance, the National Museum of the Philippines declared the bridge an Important Cultural Property on 5 December 2018, and a marker was unveiled last 23 April 2023. 

#NationalMuseumPH #Sampaloc #SampalocQuezon