Santo Tomas de Villanueva, Miagao, Phillipines

Facade of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, Miagao byYidian Cheow (Creative Commons)

When crawling over the web for Baroque Churches I have several times been directed toward Filipino Baroque churches. I have never been there and these sounded remote and implausible. Yet here they are : 4 UNESCO Heritage sites since 1993 and there are more examples.

The Phillipines were colonised by the Spanish in the 16th century. They became part of King Philip II s headaches when he ruled the world from his dismal Escorial Palace! It all started with Ferdinand Magellan laying anchor there during his world voyage in 1521. Colonisation began from Mexico led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The Spaniards regarded the conquest over the next century as a continuation of their Reconquista (just as Spain had been gradually recovered from the Moors) a war against Moslems. The islands came under the jurisdiction of The Mexican based Viceroyalty of New Spain. In 1579

Manila was established as the capital. The process and methods mirror those used in Mexico and throughout Latin America.

But are the churches really Baroque? Surely more Mannerist or Renaissance? We have the same quandary in Mexico,Peru and elsewhere in Latin America. The styles merged, grew alongside each other. I shall take a perhaps cavalier attitude and post about what appeals to me and hopefully to you.  Certainly they call them Baroque in the Phillipines.

I have chosen Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Miagao, a town on the island of Iloila. The typical style of these Spanish churches in the Phillipines used local materials, decorations and construction techniques fused with baroque church design.This means they are usually monumental, strongly buttressed because of earthquakes,and squat with separate bell towers.They have been called fortress churches (like the fortress churches of central Mexico built to impress natives) due to pirates, marauders and local geology.They also should reflect the 1563 Laws of the Indies of Philip II for all newly discovered settlements in Spanish colonies: his long arm stretched everywhere.

Exterior by Constantine Agostin (Creative Commons)

The missionaries who built these churches were not architects so local townspeople -Filipinos and Chinese will have helped.

Santo Tomas stands at the highest point in town.Its towers acted as lookouts against Moslem raiders.In this church the bell tower is joined on to the church The facade is riotously decorated on the advice of two priests at different times.It reflects local take on of the life of Christ, set among papaya, coconut and palm tree reliefs. The urge to fill spaces with decoration shows the Filipino dislike of plain surfaces.

There is a separate statue of St Christopher in local traditional costume holding on to a coconut tree with young Jesus on his back.

Facade by ValMan (Creative Commons)

The interior has a high altar which may be original 18th century. It was lost in a fire but recovered in 1982. It has 3 alcoves containing S Tomas S Joseph and Christ crucified. (Photo by Gary Todd Creative Commons)

Interior of Santo Tomas. (Constatine Agostin Creative Commons)

Just look at those buttresses! (Gary Todd on Creative Commons)