PHL's four baroque churches focus of detailed maps project

The government's lead mapping body—the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority—has embarked on a Visita Iglesia of its own. The NAMRIA is doing detailed maps of the “buffer and core zone delimitation” of the country's four baroque churches. Being mapped are the following:

• Church of the Immaculate Conception of San Agustin in Intramuros, Manila (1607);
• Church of San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte (1710);
• Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur (1765); and,
• Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Miag-ao, Iloilo (1786).

“The four churches are listed as world heritage sites because of their unique architectural design as a reinterpretation of European Baroque with a fusion of Chinese and Philippine indigenous architectures,” the NAMRIA said in a current report on its website. Work on the baroque churches began soon after completion of the mapping and surveying project on the Ifugao Rice Terraces—also a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). NAMRIA Administrator Peter N. Tiangco said the agency supported the project and teamed up with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts “because of the churches’ historical importance, aside from its impact on our local tourism industry.” “They appear to be more like fortresses rather than religious edifices. The main reason for building each church with a sturdy buttress design is to withstand strong earthquakes and to protect the Spaniards from the revolts of native people,” the mapping agency noted. Survey teams have been going to the baroque churches and set up observation stations. The NAMRIA did not indicate their timetable for the mapping of the churches. –KG, GMA News