Law and Order

In the Early 1900's, the old Iloilo city hall grounds was once located in General Luna St. where the University of the Philippines is now located, in fact, the old city hall of iloilo is presently the University library of the UP campus.

This edifice which is Classical Roman in style is one of the city's prominent icons. The Facade portal of the library is flanked by two large statues named "Law" and "Order". These statues are greek in style and possess strong facial expressions which demand strength and power.

Miagao Cemetery Capilla

Indeed, Miagao Church is a popular tourist destination in the Province. It is one of the most photographed churches in the country and is one of the World Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO. However, aside from this 17th century church, Miagao also holds another historical treasure, the town's Hispanio-Filipino Cemetery and It's Romanesque Chapel.

This is the only extant chapel in Western Visayas which still sports an 18th century brick dome. Built of baked bricks and yellowish coral stones, the chapel lies quietly on the foot of hill where the Poblacion of Miagao is located. Unlike the town's baroque church, the motiff of this chapel is simplicity, no intricate relief can be found on the facade except for a simple carving of the merged skull and crossbones.There are three entrances with roman arches each topped by circular windows. Ionic pilasters divide the facade into three and baroque finials crown the chapel's eight edges.

Upon aproaching the chapel, one may notice a ruined edifice on the left part of the cemetery. It is obvious that the edifice is a remnant from the 16th-17th century. Until this very day, no one knows what the structure was before it was ruined but it might be a church built before the present fortress church was finished.

San Jose Church

Like what I have mentioned in an earlier post, San Jose Church is indeed one of the most interesting places one should definitely visit during his trip in Iloilo. This Church was designed to appear like the Spanish Church of Valencia Del Cid but further alterations to its facade gave it its own architectural identity.
Many Historical artifacts are housed in the church making it not any ordinary one. It may not look very artistic from the outside but it's grand rococo-gothic interior will surprise a visitor. The most important treasure in this church is the statue of "Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary" which was accidentally discovered in a pile of debris during the Spanish-Dutch War in La Punta in 1614.

The Iloilo Customs House

When walking around Iloilo's old world district along Calle Real, one might notice a magnificent tower popping out behind the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand. The same scene can be distinguished when one arrives on Iloilo through Iloilo's Domestic Port. That beautiful tower which welcomes the break of the dawn and muses the last peek of the sunset is the tower of Iloilo's Customs house, more commonly known as the Aduana. This Neoclassic structure which looks over the river wharf and the Muelle Loney port, is one of Iloilo's most astonishing icons. Built during the early 1900's it was believed to be deisgned similarly with the old Custom houses of Cebu and Manila.

Aduana seemed to be one of the fewest 18th-19th colonial buildings which still stand intact along the Muelle Loney River Wharf. Though many old world buildings were left abandoned or in ruins, Muelle Loney still proves that history never ceased along its territory. It is still a historic international port like it was back in 1855.