Had to do a write up about this place recently, I thought I might share this place with you guys.


Quick background, the San Agustin Church is the oldest church (and structure) in the Philippines. Constructed in 1586 from the plans of architect Juan Macias, it finished in 1607. It is one of four Baroque churches in the PI and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Because it was located within the walled city of Intramuros, it served as the seat of the Catholic Church here during the Spanish Colonial period. Several conquistadors and VIPs are consequently buried here (either in the crypt, under the church's very tile floors [no j/k] or in special rooms) including Miguel López de Legazpi (first Gov-Gen. and conqueror of Manila), Juan de Salcedo and Mart�n de Goiti. The most spectacular feature of the church itself are the trompe-l'oeil ceiling (by Italian artists Cesare Alberoni and Giovanni Dibella) and the heavily ornate Baroque main door. Anyway, the church is merely a part of a larger complex. It sits beside a museum that used to be a monastery (until it was destroyed in WW2), a replacement monastery and a newer monastery (still getting finishing touches from the construction company). Of course, as befits an outpost of the army of the lord, the priests lived in head-spinning luxury. I said there was a museum, and it displays their belongings, accoutrements, furnishings and statues. All of which are either made from gold, silver, brass, ivory, rare gems, rarer woods and fine silks. The museum also has a collection of high arched hallways finished in huge slabs bare grey and damp stone (think Harry Potter's school) but lined to the hilt with priceless 15-20 ft high oil paintings and chests/cabinets/benches executed in Narra, Molave or Mahogany.

So the pictures.. Sorry about the image quality, I was only using my phone instead of my D40 because 1. I didn't want to get mugged and 2. They expressly prohibit any picture-taking or video recording inside. All of the images you see are stolen shots when no one was around.

Exterior

surrounding building





Church+Museum



distraction



info




Museum interior

passage way to Fr. Blanco's garden from the museum. To the left of the images is the Director's office, which is a cool little nook. You enter through a short, low, arched tunnel while office itself is situated on an elevated floor.





Staircase to the second floor. Gives you an idea of what the Museum's int. looks like. There's a bit of the medieval in it. I wouldn't be surprised if someone found a torture chamber for use of the Inquisition.







Fr. Blanco's Garden

It's a square, paved garden surrounded by the 2 monasteries.



In this image the museum is clearly seen on the right while the structure on the left with the black glass facade is the new Monastery.





Monastery entrance



They placed a koi pond in front of it to be crossed by a wooden bridge. Fancy.



The rest of the structure. The architecture is typical of the Colonial style that sprang up almost exclusively within the Intramuros itself. Most buildings here are defined by a soaring ground floor finished with chunky and imposing slabs of stone (granite?) and a lower ceilinged second floor ornately done up in wood in the Filipino 'al fresco' style.



Old Monastery

This used to be where the priests lived and ate but now it is being repurposed as an office complex for the Church's outreach missions



vThis derelict apartment building is not a part of the complex but is across the street from it. I just thought it provided a great contrast to the opulence of San Agustin as well as the unashamed old-fashionedness permeating in the place while the apartment, intruding like an unwanted guest, is done up in 60's-tastic modernist style. Just look at the pattern on the left.



Choir Loft

The whole balcony is done up in Molave, a tropical wood native here.



I don't know what this is called but its situated right smack in the middle of the loft. The idea is, it holds those huge choral books that the choir reads.





Where the choir sits. Styling is very medieval, again getting huge vibes of JK Rowling's fantasy world here. Beautiful sculptural pieces those seats maybe, you wouldn't want to plonk your bottom on it. It is about as comfortable as the back seat of an American police cruiser. Whoever designed them, I imagine, was a sadist. It wouldn't be out of place in a B&D dungeon.



choir master's seat. You can see a bit of the trompe-l'oeil ceiling at the top end of the pic.



Parting shot

More of the painted ceiling. It is quite magnificent.