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.

Cabatuan cemetery chapel

From the collection of archival photos of the San Agustin Museum courtesy of Fr. Pedro Galende, three old photos, circa 1960′s, of the beautiful Cabatuan cemetery are featured here. Above, is the capilla or chapel sans the vegetation that now blocked the view from the entrance. This chapel has the most stylized skull and crossbone bas relief in the country.

One of three gates leading to the cemetery

The main cemetery entrance gate and fence with its beautiful arch and wrought iron grills. This one leads directly to the chapel while the other two gates leads to the sides.

View of the cemetery from afar

This cemetery is just along the road, a good distance from the massive church at the town center.

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.

Left, niches; middle, detail of brickwork; right, detail of column

The back end of the camposanto is a wall filled with niches. During the colonial era, families of stature are interred here while the general public were buried at the grounds. The material used is not only limestone blocks but also bricks which form the frame of the niche as well as at the top portion of the columns. The capital are tuscan but some are already missing.

Like in other camposantos, these niches are rented out for a couple of years. If the rent is not renewed after the period, the bones are dumped in an osorio, a common skeletal dumping ground found within the area.

The Cabatuan cemetery capilla: front, right and back views.

The cemetery capilla or chapel is octagonal in form with three gated entrances. It is found at the center of the camposanto grounds just like in Miag-ao and San Joaquin, this province. Unlike in Dalaguete and Argao in Cebu and EB Magalona in Negros Occidental which are located at the back, connected to the perimeter wall.

Facade decorations: left, a highly stylized skull and crossbones; right, weblike floral relief.

The Cabatuan camposanto perhaps possesses the most stylized skull and crossbones motif of any colonial era cemetery that I have visited across the country. What separates it from the rest is the presence of the palm like relief surrounding it. In other areas, it’s just a simple carving. This facade decoration can be found at the top of the three chapel entrances.

What I find fascinating here is the consistent use of the weblike floral relief. Found at the top of the arches at the entrance to the cemetery, it can also be seen at the top of the chapel. Inside, it is repeated, lining the walls just before it terminates at the ceiling.

Details: left, chapel entrance arch with grill; right, outside column base

The perimeter entrance arch is echoed again at the chapel with its lunettes and iron grill work. Compared to the former where the wrought iron is heavy, here, it is used lightly.

Left, the three chapel entrances as seen from inside. Note occupied niche at the floor between the left and middle portals; right, top cross and finial

The rounded urn like finial this time differs from those found at the top of the perimeter fence pier and archway which is a square. It crowns the chapel’s columns.

Left, ovate ceiling; right, altar with crucifix

While the chapel is octagonal in form, the interior is ovate. The natural color of the limestone is still very much evident. Unlike the camposanto capilla in Sibonga, Cebu which has a stone dome, here it is made of wood. I’m not sure if this is the original or it was a dome before but collapsed in the ensuing years.

A simple sacrificial type of altar with a modern crucifix forms the focal point of the interior.

Other details: left, the same weblike floral motif lining the edge of the ceiling; middle, detail of floral pattern of floor tiles; right, niches inside the chapel

Floral relieves everywhere! We can see again this now common motif. In an apparent harmony with the stone decorations, the floor tiling, said to be original, adopts it with its beautiful hexagonal black tiles with a stylized flower whose eight petals resemble more the rays of the sun.

Flanking the altar at both sides but not immediately beside it, are three rows – two columns, of occupied niches. Here, the more important members of the town were interred.

The three arched entrances of the cemetery of Cabatauan, Iloilo.

Entrance into the cemetery is via three stone archways conveniently distanced, about a few meters from each other. All have the same design from the iron cross, the floral motif, down to the columns, lunettes and gate. A pair of urn like finials used to decorate the sides of the top arch. Now, only on finial remains which can be found at the right arch.

Left, the now discolored limestone blocks; middle, the back of the archway; right, lateral view of the top
of arch with cross.

It is easy to mistake the stone blocks as adobe but is in fact limestone. Due to time and wear, these have become discolored. I haven’t seen archival photos of this cemetery and I have a hunch that this might have been coated with paletada, a lime based coating used to protect soft stones. Surface protection with paletada was widely practiced not only here in the Philippines during the colonial era but also done in other colonies like in Latin America and India. Given the state of the structure, if left unchecked a few more years, I’m afraid that the stones of this cemetery will finally crumble.

Like other cemetery arches in the country, it is about a meter thick.

Left, detail of the back of the arch; right, detail of iron cross.

Heavy iron grill work can be found in the lunettes, the gate as well as between piers. Gian Alvarez indicated that iron smithing is an industry in this municipality and thus must have been forged here. I can’t help but notice the combined brickwork framing the arch found at the back. This structure also combines two types of arches: a full semi-circle which is found at the top and lunette, then a segmented arch found at the back. The latter is commonly used in other like structures particularly in Cebu.

Atop the arch is a clover cross but only three parts are equal in size with its stem elongated. A stylized base is decorated with floral motifs of wrought iron.

Left, just above the iron gate is an inscription; right, detail of Tuscan column.

Just above the stone arch lunettes are rectangular relieved panels that have an inscription. Of the three arches, only one has retained it, the rest have been erased. It reads:

Hatagi siya O Ginoo sang capahuayan nga dayon

This translates to: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

The facade of the arches are decorated with tuscan columns which can also be found at the pier, the chapel and niches. A stylized weblike floral motif tops the column.

Left, detail of perimeter fence with iron work; right, detail of urn like finial.

Finally, massive stone piers line the perimeter fence and decorated with iron grills. The front have tuscan columns and atop most piers, is an urn like finial.

The octagonal capilla of the Cabatuan cemetery.

I’m not sure when this was exactly built as there are no markers found unlike in the cemeteries of Pototan, San Joaquin and Janiuay, all in the same province. However, Marie Joy Rosal-Sumagaysay, in her paper (under References) wrote that these are typically 19th century. She also said that Paco, Manila’s circular cemetery, completed in 1822 was the capital’s first extramural cemetery and may have inspired the building of these type of structures in other provinces.

The left entrance. This is one of three such arched entryway.

The cemetery consists of three notable structures. Marking the boundary is a fence with three arched entrances. The middle entrance leads directly to the octagonal capilla or chapel. At the back end, is a wall with niches. All these are still original and in use.

The stone niches located at the far end of the cemetery.

These structures are all made from limestone quarried from the hills of Iloilo. However, due to the nature of the material and the ravages of time, it has become discolored and at first, I thought that it was of volcanic material. The surface is also overgrown with moss and other vegetation. I hope that the local chapter of the Historical Conservation Society represented by Gian Alvarez and Bernie Arellano, who I’m very much grateful for assisting me during my visit, will see to it that such growth, especially the weeds and small trees will be on check before it will further weaken the stones.

Structural details will be tackle in upcoming posts.