The grand and baroque cemetery chapel of San Joaquin, Iloilo

The old cemetery chapels located in the camposanto built during the Spanish colonial era is one of the interesting religious heritage structures in the country. Unfortunately, many don’t have the focus they deserve. Only a few remain that still exists in the Philippines and their deterioration continues to this day.

This Top 10 list is a good start and that Filipinos should visit or be aware of. This listing is in no way complete as there are still some places that I have to visit but do note that this list covers cemetery chapels found outside of Metro Manila. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any cemetery chapels in Mindanao. Another note, this doesn’t include mortuary chapels which are found beside or infront of the church.

This is my entry for the Pinoy Travel Bloggers’s blog carnival hosted by The Pinay Solo Backpacker.

1 San Joaquin, Iloilo
Perhaps one of the most beautiful in the country, the cemetery chapel in San Joaquin, Iloilo is a head turner as one passes by the highway. A gated entrance leads to a grand staircase and on to this beautiful baroque structure that always awes visitors.

The cemetery chapel of Cabatuan, Iloilo has stylized bas relief

2 Cabatuan, Iloilo
Cabatuan in Iloilo is known mostly for its massive and beautiful church with a retablos made of sandstone. But few know that its cemetery chapel along the highway has one of the most stylized skull and cross bones in mortuary art during the Spanish colonial period. More info and images here.

Tabaco City cemetery chapel in Albay is unique for its construction material

3 Tabaco City, Albay
The cemetery chapel in Tabaco City is one of the well preserved structures in the Bicol region. It uses black lava stones abundant in the area, similar to the construction material of the old church. It has interesting bas relief details at its facade.

Tayabas's Santuario de las almas

4 Tayabas, Quezon
The Santuario de las almas in Tayabas is one of two cemetery chapel found in the municiaplity. This beautiful structure is one of the biggest in the country and where Spaniards and Filipino elites were used to be interred. Though located a few hundred meters from the basilica, it faces it directly.

Tayabas cemetery chapel in Quezon is unique with its twin towers and architectural style

5 Tayabas, Quezon
The cemetery chapel in Tayabas, Quezon is interesting as it is one of a few chapels with twin belfries, similar to Lucban, in the same province, which is now in ruins. What makes it more interesting is the use of Gothic architectural style which is represented by the trefoil pediment reminiscent of Lucban church and the lancet blind niche, central niche and entrance.

Nagcarlan's cemetery chapel done in the baroque style

6 Nagcarlan, Laguna
Nagcarlan in Laguna is famous for its underground cemetery, the only public catacomb in the country. Like the simbaan a bassit in Vigan, it has an espadana at the top serving as its pediment, a pair of blind oculi and a central niche. It is also the highlight of a circular cemetery.

Vigan's Simbaan a bassit in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur

7 Simbaan a bassit, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur
Historic Vigan City is admired for its old structures and one of these is the cemetery chapel also called Simbaan a bassit. Done in the neoclassical style and adorned with a pair of volutes at the side (a baroque style) and some floral details, its the only one that has an espadana (top part where the bells are hung) in the Ilocos region.

The Calamba cemetery chapel in Cebu City is unique for its beautiful and unusual bas relief of death

8 Calamba, Cebu City
Of the cemetery chapels listed here, its only the Calamba chapel that has been refurbished and renovated badly with the front added with a badly designed portico and the lower portion cemented. This chapel is interesting for its bas relief located at the center of the pediment. It shows death with a scythe, crowned and holding an hour glass which readily drives down to men his mortality.

The quaint baroque cemetery chapel of Laoag City

9 Laoag City, Ilocos Norte
Tucked in one of the least visited places in Laoag City (well, except during 1 November), the cemetery chapel of this city is one of the bigger ones but quaint and built in subdued baroque style. Like Saravia, it is one of the few intact brick cemetery chapel in the country.

Saravia's cemetery chapel with brick facade

10 E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental
E.B. Magalona, formerly Saravia, in Negros Occidental has a beautiful cemetery chapel that is located near the highway. Of the many places I’ve visited, it is one of the very few brick structure that has an intact facade that I have seen. However, the interior has been renovated already and the roof has been replaced. More info here.

Page spread showing my photos of Sta. Maria Church

Cover page of Bluprint magazine

The latest issue of Bluprint Magazine, the design sourcebook, Vol. 1 2011, is starting the year with their visita iglesia featuring six churches: Sta. Maria, Bantay, Vigan in Ilocos Sur; Laoag, Sarrat and Paoay in Ilocos Norte; and the Palacio de Arzobispado of Vigan City.

As expected, the individual articles written and photographed by regular writers and photographer contributors, including me for the Sta. Maria church images and some architects, focus on the architecture and commentary of the effect of countless renovations and changes. The images are interesting also as these are rendered architecturally correct showing details, spaces and sections.

For the Sta. Maria church article, the images I contributed were taken in 2005 wherein one can still see some ceiling paintings on the side whereas now, these were painted over.

Check out the bookstores and magazine stands for the latest issue.

The Cathedral of Tuguegarao

Last January 2010, I was invited by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau to join a media tour of travel writers and bloggers to experience North Luzon. Part of the tour included a visit to 9 churches, a visita iglesia. Check Langyaw.com for travel related posts during this trip.

Tuguegarao Cathedral is imposing in its size, awe inspiring with it’s brick facade and interesting with its many brick bas relief symbols of the Dominican Order. There are roosters, papal tiaras, dogs, the sun and the moon and the marian symbols. In terms of architecture, it is the prime example of the Cagayan style of facade which can be seen in Dupax del Sur, Bambang and Bayombong in Nueva Vizcaya as well as a variation in Tumauini and San Pablo in Isabela.

Our Lady of Piat Shrine

The Our Lady of Piat Shrine is one of the top pilgrimage areas in Cagayan province and in the country with many devotees venerating the image. It’s not a colonial era church. When this shrine became popular and grew, the old edifice located near it was eventually abandoned and is now in ruin. Notable church antique artifacts including an 18th century bell can be found at the shrine’s museum.

Iguig Church is famous for its flying buttresses located at the back.

The church of Iguig is unassuming with its already renovated facade that one would hesitate to venture inside and just move on. However, at the back, supporting the rear wall, is an architectural detail that is not so commonly used in other Spanish colonial era churches in the country: flying buttresses. Only a handful of religious edifices sport this like Tumauini in Isabela. Found mostly used in Gothic architecture, its kind of surprising to be used here.

Alcala Church

Alcala Church is said to be the widest in Cagayan province with its three aisles. Squat and minimally embellished except for decorative columns and blind windows as niches, the style of the facade is reminiscent to the one in Lal-lo. The interior has been greatly renovated with nary a trace of the original.

Camalaniugan Church is where the oldest bell in the Far East is located, dated 1595.

Camalaniugan Church is famous for one thing: the oldest bell in the Far East is located here. This bell, cast in 1595 is inscribed the Sta. Maria with an almost tubular form unlike those cast in the 18th and 19th centuries. The current structure is new as the one prior to this was burned a few years ago. Behind the current building is the ruins of a much older church which was abandoned when the mighty Cagayan River flooded and eroded portions of the structure. About a hundred meters is a massive and old horno or oven, used to bake the bricks used in constructing many of the brick churches in North Cagayan during the Spanish colonial period.

Lallo Church was once the seat of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia

Lal-lo Church used to be the seat of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia in the 18th century but was moved to Vigan in Ilocos Sur when the Cagayan River flooded and eroded portions of its plaza fronting the church. This and the edifice in Alcala have the same style of facade. The interior has been renovated.

Pamplona Church

I’ve been looking forward to see the church of Pamplona but was quite disappointed. It’s facade has already been renovated, with the origina covered with new bricks. However, as one goes to the side, the nave is still original and portions of the rubble stone used as filling can still be seen.

Paoay Church, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Parish church of St. Augustine in Paoay, Ilocos Norte is one of four structures inscribed as Baroque Churches of the Philippines under the UNESCO World Heritage List. It’s architecture is no like any other in the Philippines with it’s unique facade and massive buttresses that line the nave’s exterior. It’s a good example of earthquake baroque and, typical of Ilocos churches, the belfry is a few meters from the main structure. Some critics say that it’s architecture is a blending of the oriental and occidental, the east and the west.

Masinloc Church

The church in Masinloc is one of the few remaining Spanish colonial era churches in Zambales, majority of which were built by the Augustinian Recollects as they were assigned this region right after they arrived in the country in 1606. made from coral stone, it’s a surprise for me as churches made from this material is not so common in Luzon. Several earthquake damaged this edifice, the latest of which struck in 1999 that resulted in a crack at the facade. It has been repaired a few years ago.

The domed octagonal cemetery of Tabaco is impressive with its architecture. Black volcanic stone is used, just like the cathedral.

Extant mortuary chapels in the country are hard to find except maybe if you are in the province of Iloilo where there are a few excellent examples. However, beyond that province and Cebu, there are also scattered across the rest of the regions but not all and I haven’t seen one from Mindanao. During my travels, I was able to find some that are now posted here.

Not all towns and cities have them as only the more affluent ones were able to build these. Typically, these cemetery chapels are either found at the center, some are at the back end and an exception seems to be the Simbaan a Bassit which, other than located at the front, it has the only working espadaña, architectural feature where the bells are hung at the pediment, in the region. Nagcarlan is beautiful with its circular cemetery like Paco in Manila (not shown here), sports an espadaña and has a catacomb, the only one that I’ve seen.

Lucban and Tayabas surprised me with its twin belfries. While the former is in ruins, the latter is still in working condition and made me smile because of the gothic architecture (lancet portal & trefoil). Still in Tayabas, the Santuario de las Almas is huge compared to the other chapels.

Cabatuan, San Joaquin, Miag-ao all in Iloilo and Tabaco City in Albay have their own octagonal chapels of which San Joaquin is the most impressive. Tabaco’s is also stunning because of its dark volcanic stones. These two are domed.

Lastly, Sta. Maria in Ilocos Sur looks impressive but it’s difficult to ascertain as it is already in ruins. The one in Malabon, Metro Manila has only its lower part extant and is also in ruins. Both were constructed by the Augustinians and are located just near the main church.