Artwork Search
Arts in Southeast Asia Database
ArchitectureSanta Maria Church
The front wall of Santa Maria church, the church of Santa Maria city, is in Baroque style. Its façade is surrounded by towers and two posts on both sides. The area is divided into 3 parts: the top part appears the gable in baroque style which uses the arch gable in the middle surrounded by arcs on the side. That makes the top part flow smoothly. This character is very different than classic style. At the very end where the flanked towers are appears the trophy. All of these are Baroque’s composition. The side of the church is supported by a heavy buttress. This allows the church to withstand earthquake in the Philippines.
ArchitectureVigan Cathedral
The façade of Vigan Cathedral is of Classic style, i.e. the pediment is supported by the Ionic columns in the upper register and Doric ones in the lower registers. The architectural details of the entablature between the registers are of classic style. In the main niche exists the statue of St Paul riding on the horse. The emblems of St Paul, the sword and the palm leaf symbolizing his martyrdom, are depicted in the façade. Despite of being strictly fixed on the classic pattern, some details of the façade indicate some Baroque and Chinese influences, such as the decorations of the trophies and the Chinese lion stone statues at the façade.
ArchitectureBelfry: Vigan Cathedral
Vigan Cathedral Belfry is a belfry of Vigan School. It is a belfry in octagonal plan in different layers. Each layer contains is in classic style, for example, the arcs and the wall posts. At the very top appears the dome. This octagonal tower is different than the one of Laoag School who prefers square tower. Towers of both Vigan and Laoag School are always situated separately from the church to protect the towers from falling over the church when an earthquake occurs.
ArchitectureInterior: Vigan Cathedral
The interior of Vigan Cathedral shows the clearer separation of nave and aisle than other churches in the same area. The connecting arc posts are used to separate the two. In addition, the ceiling of nave is obviously higher than the one of aisle and that is why the window is made on the side of nave which makes it similar to European art but different than other churches in the area. The ceiling of the church is decorated by using ribs to link between each bay. This character reminds of the roof’s construction in vault style of churches in Gothic art. At the end of nave and aisle appears the altar. The interior is each bay appears small altars that act as chapel.
ArchitectureMain Altar: Vigan Cathedral
The Main Altar of Vigan Cathedral was built for the enthronement of Jesus. On the side of the altar appears two of his apostles: St. Peter who is the Pope and who holds the keys to heaven and St. Andrew who holds the cross that Jesus was nailed to. Cupids holding garlands were used to decorate the Main Altar. Moreover, trophies and arc domes were also used to decorate the architecture. All of the decorations are in Baroque style. On top of the Altar appears the dove in the radius of the Holy spirit.
ArchitectureCemetery Chapel: Vigan
Cemetery Chapel is locally called Simbaan a Bassit is situated in the couth of Vigan city. It was built in 1852. It is a small church with a baroque style façade. The façade is divided into 5 parts using wall posts. The top of the church is the arc gable in baroque style. On the side of the church appears the large volute as in baroque style and the door to the cemetery. The gable of the façade that is also used for hanging the bell is not often seen in the art of the Philippines (This is called Espadraña in Spanish).
ArchitecturePaoay Church
The façade of Paoay church is made of brick and stucco where the side façade is made of coral stone. The façade is decorated with 6 wall posts. The façade is divided in to 5 parts. The top part is covered with classic pediment and there is a small bell hanger on top of the gable as well. In the nave appears only one arch door. There is no door around the aisle area. There is an arch that serves as window and camber. Moreover, the symbols of the families that patronize the church are decorated.
ArchitectureButtress: Paoay Church
The side buttress of Paoay church was built up firmly to prevent the church from earthquake erosion. The butsress is in volute shape which is in style of Baroque style. This is one of the most beautiful buttresses in the Philippines arts. Large buttress like this always appear in churches in Laoag- Vigan style. There is a staircase inserted between the buttresses to use for going up to the roof of the church. This style can also be seen in Santa Maria church near Vigan city. However, this style is completely different from Manila School because churches in Manila School do not emphasize in having a buttress in a church.
