Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General InformationPhilippine Islands. Commission of Independence
History
Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General Information
Philippine Islands. Commission of Independence
Philippines -- Description and travel; Philippines -- Economic conditions
You will find them at every turn. To see her churches alone, in
detail--St. Augustine's, built in 1599, with its ceiling of solid stone
nearly four feet thick, and the illustrious dead beneath its hardwood
floor; St. Sebastian's of solid steel made in Belgium and brought out
in sections and assembled; St. Ignatius' and others with exquisitely
carved woodwork, the work of Filipinos; their altars, statues and
paintings--to appreciate their architecture and the engineering skill
that erected them would require not days or weeks, but months.
[The Cathedral]
Special mention should be made of the Cathedral, the historic edifice
which has witnessed so many rare and brilliant ceremonies. It is
a most ornate and yet harmonious structure. The massive dome can
be seen from far out at sea. The nave of the cathedral is of most
majestic proportions and its pillars and clusters, with their gilded
capitals, are handsome. The cupola rises to an immense height and has
an inside balcony. Its four corners are frescoed, and the subjects
are the "Four Evangelists." A beautiful sky, with angel heads, upon
which stands the statue of the Immaculate Concepcion, is just above
the high altar and around it, in sort of a frieze, are the heads of
the apostles, while in the transepts, are the heads of the prophets,
kings, and patriarchs. The architecture of the cathedral is of Roman
Byzantine Style.
[The Ayuntamiento]
On the right hand side of the cathedral, the traveler sees the
Ayuntamiento, a two-story building, the original seat of the Spanish
government, now the headquarters of the House of Representatives and
of the six departments of the Philippine government. The cornerstone
of this building was laid in 1735. On the main landing of its imposing
staircase is a statue, a replica of that in the "Biblioteca Nacional"
at Madrid, of Juan Sebastian Elcano, the navigator who, after the death
of Magellan, brought to a safe conclusion the first voyage around the
world. The doors in either side of the statue lead to the Marble Hall,
named from its marble floor, where the house of representatives sits
and where official receptions and state entertainments are often held.
[University of Santo Tomas]
In the rear of the Ayuntamiento, and occupying the other half of the
same block, stands the building of the University of Santo Tomas,
founded in 1619, the oldest educational institution of collegiate
rank under American sovereignty. It is under the direction of the
Dominican Order and has departments for the education of students
in all the principal professions. It keeps a valuable and extensive
collection of zoölogical, ethnological, and other scientific specimens
which is open to male visitors only (the university being by origin a
monastic institution) on Sunday mornings from 9 to 11. In the little
plaza on which the building fronts is a statue of Miguel Benavides,
the second Archbishop of Manila, and founder of the University.
[The Dominican Church]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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