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Significant Examples: San Sebastian Church, Manila

Church architecture in the Philippines was simple and rectangular or cruciform, drawing from early Christian styles. Thick walls and buttresses provided protection from earthquakes. Significant churches showcased various architectural styles, including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical, blending European influences with local materials and ornamentation like floral motifs. Church design was also influenced by their role as both houses of worship and fortresses against invaders.

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189 views10 pages

Significant Examples: San Sebastian Church, Manila

Church architecture in the Philippines was simple and rectangular or cruciform, drawing from early Christian styles. Thick walls and buttresses provided protection from earthquakes. Significant churches showcased various architectural styles, including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical, blending European influences with local materials and ornamentation like floral motifs. Church design was also influenced by their role as both houses of worship and fortresses against invaders.

Uploaded by

jezel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

CHURCH ARCHITECTURE
 simple, patterned after early Christian types; either rectangular or cruciform with
simple naves and aisles
 thick walls reinforced with heavy buttresses for earthquakes protection
 immense sizes because of colonial policy which dictated that a church should be
built for every 5000 baptized
 materials used include: volcanic tuff (adobe), hardened lava, volcanic ejecta,
sandstone, river boulders, clay, corals, limestone, oyster shells, eggs

SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLES

 SAN SEBASTIAN CHURCH, Manila


 a church built for all times after previous churches were damaged by
earthquakes in 1863 and 1880
 designed in the Gothic style (without flying buttresses) by Genaro
Palacios in Revivalist architecture
 made entirely of steel; plans were sent to Belgium where the parts were
made in sections then transported to Manila
 interiors were painted to resemble faux marble; adorned with sculpture by
Eusebio Garcia and painting by Lorenzo Rocha
 BARASOAIN CHURCH, Bulacan

 1871-1878 : stone church was constructed to replace wooden structure;


1880 – earthquake ruined the church
 1885 : Augustinian Juan Giron commissioned a builder named Magpayo
to rebuild the church
 variation on the circle motif
 flutings on pilasters with ends blunted into semicircles detract from the
NeoClassical
 belltower has a cubic base, three layes accented by blind and open
windows, top has crenellations and six-sided cone
 SAN AUGUSTIN CHURCH, Manila

 oldest church in the Philippines; built 1587-1607 by Juan Macias


according to the plans approved by the Royal Audencia de Mexico and by
a Royal Cedula
1854 : Don Luciano Oliver (Municipal Architect of Manila) directed the
renovation of the

 façade by adding to the height of the towers; these towers were damaged
in the 1863 earthquake and were never rebuilt
 plaza adorned with Fu dogs represents colonial urban planning
 High Renaissance : superpositioned Tuscan orders at first level, Corinthian
capitals at second level; circular windows at plain pediment; heavily
carved, two-paneled main door with images of St. Augustine and St.
Monica amidst Philippine flora
 nave is flanked by 12 collateral chapels each housing a Baroque or
NeoClassic retablo
 Baroque elements include trompe l’oeil : sculpture by Italian artists
Cesare Dibella and Giovanni Alberoni on the ceiling and pilasters
 cloisters built around an atrium with a garden planted by Augustinian
botaninst Manuel Blanco
 TAAL CHURCH, Batangas

 1858 : Fray Marcos Anton, with the help of the architect Don Luciano
Oliver, started construction; the church was completed in 1878
 built on top of a hill and may be reached through flagstone steps,
unobstructed by other buildings
 façade : arched windows alternate with Ionic columns at first level,
Corinthian at upper level; projected cornices and mouldings; three
pediments
 interior is cavernous bur drab with stout piers and semi-circular apse :
mathematical exactness rather than ornamentation
 DARAGA CHURCH, Albay

 established by people who fled the eruption of Mt. Mayon form Cagsawa
 the Franciscan wanted a church with the best features of Romanesque
and Gothic, but it was executed by the carvers in Baroque

 façade : a whole tablet without columns and cornices, only symmetrically


positioned fenestrations, apertures and niches; whorls, twisted columns,
foliage, medallions, statues and reliefs
 MIAGAO CHURCH, Iloilo

 present church was built 1786-1797 under the supervision of fray


Francisco Gonzales Maximo; a storey was added to the left belfry in
1830
 also served as fortress against Muslim pirates, simple and massive
structure mixed with ornate details
 local botanical motifs at façade reliefs reminiscent of cookie cutouts (de
gajeta), used to describe 16th century Mexican architectural reliefs
 SANTO NINO DE CEBU BASILICA, Cebu

 built by Fray Juan de Albarran about 400 years ago, on the site where a
soldier found an image of the Sto. Nino in a settlement that the Spanish
soldiers have burned down
 the Convent was founded in 1565, making it the first to be built in the
country
 constructed with stones from Panay and Capiz
 façade : blending of Moorish, Romanesque and NeoClassical elements;
trefoils on the doorways; two levels divided into three segments and
topped by pediment; retablo at the center
 belltower has four-sided balustraded dome
 interior : pierced screen with floral motifs, pineapple decors at the
choirloft, corn cobs at the capital
 VIGAN CHURCH, Ilocos Sur

 finished in 1800
 located within the grid iron planned streets of a colonial town
 baroque elements include protruding columns and solid frames; three
arched doorways leading to three naves at the first level, guarded by ionic
pillars with chinese fu dogs
 urn-like finial at pediment
 TUMAUINI CHURCH, Isabela

 begun 1783-1788 by Dominican Domingo Forto and town mayor Pablo


Sason; 1803-1808 – circular belltower was completed
 pampango artisans carved the hardwood molds for the clay insets that
decorate the church
 ultra-baroque : unique for its extensive use of baked clay both for wall
finishes and ornamentation
 ornamental details : serpentine reliefs, spiral curves, flowers, foliage,
sunfaces, cherubs and saints
circular belltower with white limestone finish, decorated with
bright red clay rosettes and festoons
 PAOAY CHURCH, Ilocos Norte

 built in 1694 by Antonio Estavillo, completed 1702-1710


 façade: rectangular, with arched doorway, four continuous pilasters
alternating with niches
 finials and crenellations at pediment niche at the apex
 huge volutes with low relief lines tracing the contour to disguise the large
buttresses

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