Calle Muralla

Muralla Street is a perimeter road located south of Intramuros. It runs along from Baluarte de San Diego to Colegio de San Juan de Letran.  

 

 

Most of the pre-war structures on this part of Intramuros were obliterated during and after the last war. Today, modern buildings occupy the site. Only markers describe the glorious architecture of churches and buildings that once stood on this side of the Walled City.   

                                                                                                                   

  

Ravellin de Real de Bagumbayan and Puerta Real

 

 

A good stroll along Muralla would be in an early morning or at late afternoon when the sun is not on its peak.  From Baluarte de San Diego we walked along Muralla street until we’ve reached the intersecting roads of General Luna and Muralla. From there, we exited from a gap on the curtain wall as we headed towards the entrance of Ravellin de Real de Bagumbayan.

 

 

According to Rene Javellana, the revellin functioned as a defense for a gate where cannons are mounted on the upper platform while the lower chambers served as storage for gunpowder and ammunition magazines. The Ravellin de la Puerta Real de Bagumbayan used to be an outer defense for the Puerta Real, the royal gate designed for the exclusive use of the Governor-General and Archbishop when going in an out of Intramuros.  

 

 

Quartel de España

 

We then entered again from the gap on the curtain wall towards General Luna Street. A block at the corner of General Luna and Muralla is occupied by the Pamatasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM). On this ground, the first Jesuit Compound where the first Jesuit church (Yglesia de Sta. Ana) and Jesuit school (Colegio Maximo de San Jose) used to stand.

 

When the Jesuits were expelled from the territory, the Archbishop used the abandoned building for the Real Seminario Concilar de San Carlos (presently known as San Carlos Seminary). Later the seminary was evacuated and the remaining buildings were renovated and turn into a soldier’s barracks known as the Quartel de Espana.

 

During American period, the barracks was used by the American army and later was turned into a covered court for a sport that was said to have been introduced on that same site –Basketball.

 

 

Capuchin Church

 

Across PLM is the El Amanecer. El Amanecer houses an antique shop and the Illustrado Restaurant where on its site once stood the mother house of the Franciscan Capuchins.   

 

 

The Capuchins introduced the devotion to, Nick Joaquin called the Blue Sashed Lady or more popularly known as the Our Lady of Lourdes. After World War II, the Capuchins transferred their mother house to Retiro in Quezon City. 

 

 

 Moving back to Muralla we walk towards Baluarte de San Andres.

 

 

 

Yglesia y Convento de San Nicholas de Tolentino

 

Across Baluarte de San Andres is the former site of the mother house of the Augustinian Recollects known as the Yglesia y Convento de San Nicholas de Tolentino. The church was famous for its four-story bell tower of decreasing dimension and devotion to Nuestro Senor de la Pacencia. The site is now occupied by Manila Bulletin.

 

The Augustinian Recollect transferred their mother house to San Sebastian Church in Quiapo.  

 

 

At the end of the Recolletos Street is a small postern (it’s now sealed) that leads to Ravellin de Recolletos. This outer defense was named after its neighboring church. The structure was converted into a garden for bonsai exhibits.

 

 

The Franciscan Chruches

 

The mother house of the Franciscan order and the Venerable Third Order (VOT) used to stand on present site of the Mapua Institute of Technology.

 

 

The old Franciscan Church was in honor of the Our Lady of Angels. The mother house was moved to Santuario de San Pedro Bautista in San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City.  

 

 

The Baluarte de San Francisco de Dilao was built as defense against the Chinese population living near the walled city. 

 

 

 

 

Parian de los Chinos

 

 

The Chinese were not allowed to conduct business inside the walled city. The Parian was built to house the Chinese merchants. This can be accessed by Intramuros residents through the Puerta del Parian.

 

 

Cannons lined the platform of the Ravellin del Parian. They were aimed at the Chinese quarters or Dilao (where the Post Office and Metropolitan Theater currently stands). The Parian and other towns surrounding the Walled City were demolished after the British Occupation.

 

 

 

 

 

Hospital de San Juan de Dios

 

At the corner of Muralla and Real Street was the Hospital de San Juan de Dios. RealSstreet was once the busiest street in Intramuros. Possibly because one end of this road was the Puerta del Parian.  

 

 

San Juan de Dios Hospital is now located along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. The Lyceum now occupies the lot of the old San Juan de Dios. 

 

 

 

San Juan de Letran

 

Facing the Baluarte de San Gabriel which was at one time served as both a fort and a hospital, is one two schools that originally in Intramuros -Colegio de San Juan de Letran (the other is Colegio de Sta. Rosa).  

 

 

The Beaterio de Sta. Catalina was an school for girls that was adjoined to the Letran via a covered walk.   

 

 

A statue of the founder of he Beaterio Mother Francisca del Espiritu Santo stands infornt of the main entrance of Letran. The Beaterio moved to Quezon City and is now known as Siena College. 

 

 

 

Puerta de Isabel II

 

Near the end of Muralla Street before it meets Aduana is the Puerta de Isabel II. This was the last of the seven gates to be built in the walled city.   

 

 

In front of the gate is the  Well-Traveled Statue of the Queen Isabel II. 

 

 

 

Information sources:

 

Almanac for Manileños by Nick Joaquin

Intramuros of Memory by Dr. Jaime Laya

In and Around Intramuros by Rene Javellana

Ciudad Murada by Jose Victor Torres

 

 

Click next for the next related article.

Click start to begin tour at Plaza Roma.

 

 

Manila Hotel: A Place of Prestige and History

 

The inauguration of Manila Hotel on July 4, 1912 was the climax of the Fourth of July festivities of that year. Standing on a reclaimed land in Manila Bay, the hotel was part of the original development proposed by Chicago’s fame city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham.  

  

 

According to Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, the Manila Hotel was the most modern hotel in Asia when it was inaugurated in 1912. It was a statement of American gains in architecture and technological advances, and quickly became hub of a new tourism district. Older hotels and inns were initially inside Intramuros, but as business spread to the arrabales, especially in Santa Cruz, so did tourists and business lodgings.  

The hotel was conceived as lodging for top brass Americans and to anyone of similar fair skinned. No Filipino (native) was allowed to stay as guest in the hotel. Until the term of most admired American Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison who broke the barriers by naming Filipino to the board of directors and inviting Filipinos as his guests in the hotel, Filipinos were uncomfortable at the Hotel and other American-owned recreational and leisure facilities. 

 

In 1935, when President Manuel L. Quezon invited Douglas MacArthur to become the country’s Field Marshall and plan out a defense system, a seven-room penthouse at the government owned Manila Hotel was created to provide MacArthur with a home equal to, if not outshining the grandness of Malacanang. The renovation was executed by the best architect of the time, Andres Luna de San Perdro, son of the painter Juan Luna.  

The suite which still carries MacArthur’s name was such a drain on the hotel’s finances that upon receiving the bill, Quezon immediately called his appointed mayor of Greater Manila, Jorge Vargas to settle the problem. The solution was to give MacArthur the honorary title as General Manager of the hotel to justify his free and luxurious living in his penthouse suit. 

As proof that the MacArthur’s suite is the most luxurious living quarters in Manila, Japanese General Yamashita and later Japanese Premier Tojo preferred to use the suite as their home during the Japanese Occupation. According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, “the Japanese had taken the a liking to the place probably because Mrs. MacArthur had left at the entrance to the suite two Japanese vases given to MacArthur’s father by the Emperor of Japan.” 

Manila Hotel was burned during the 1945 Battle for Manila. Although it continued operations after the war, changes in management and problem with logistics tarnished the place. Ocampo noted that the only thing which kept its reputation “as a place of prestige in Asia” intact was its list of guests. The lists include: US Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, British royalty the Duke of Windsor, British pop sensation the Beatles, American actors Marlon Brando, Bob Hope, John Wayne, US Senator Edward Kennedy, the Rockefeller brothers, and American writer Ernest Hemingway. All of them contributed to the prestige and colorful history of Manila Hotel.

Sources:

The Governor-General’s Kitchen by Felice Prudente Sta. Maria

Bonifacio’s Bolo by Ambeth Ocampo

The Power of the Cross and the Might of Sword

Divided among themselves into small political groups called barangays, the inhabitants of the new Spanish colony were easily conquered. Historians noted that the conquistadores and missionaries used the extensive experience they have gained in Mexico in carrying out the pacification and conquest of the colony. 

 

 

According to historian Gregorio Zaide, Spain colonized the Philippines using the power of the Cross and the might of the Sword. For more than three centuries, the unity of the Church and State has proven its potency in ruling country.

 

 

 

However, there were periods when the relationship between the two colonial powers turned bitter and scandalous that the civil authorities found it necessary to yield to the all-powerful Church.

 

A walk along the ancient streets and ruins of Intramuros provided us observable manifestations that reveal the supremacy of the Church. Aside from the several churches that once stood within the Walled City, the naming of streets, public facilities and military installations after Catholic saints gave the Church its dominance in the colony. 

 

 

Augustinian Provincial House

 

Along Sta. Lucia Street was the Augustinian Provincial House. Also known as the Casa Procuracion, this was built to accommodate the growing number of Augustinians in the Philippines. Nick Joaquin noted the Augustinians to be the “premier friar order in our country, the first to evangelize the Philippines.” A covered bridge once crossed over Real Street which connects the Provincial House to the Augustinian motherhouse –the San Agustin Church and Convent. 

 

 

Other friar orders soon followed. The strong presence of the friars in the Spanish population came to the point that in the absence of civil authorities, the Spanish friars would often take their place. According to Ramon Zaragoza, “the friars in turn assumed a great importance in maintaining the Spanish hegemony in the island and jealously guarded their power to do so.”

 

 

In 1939, the building was leased the newly established Adamson University. The building was destroyed during World War II. It was then reconstructed and patterned after the original design of intricately carved wood. 

 

 

Puerta de Santa Lucia

 

At the end of Real Street is one of the seven gates of Intramuros –Puerta de Santa Lucia.   

Across the walls of San Agustin Convent is the Cuartel de Sta. Lucia which in 1901 housed the barracks of the newly formed Philippine Constabulary.  A military school was opened in this building in 1904 which later became Baguio’s Philippine Military Academy.   

 

 

 

No. 1 Victoria Street

 

Moving further down Sta. Lucia Street and turning southwest of Victoria Street is the Baluartillo de San Jose. On top of this bastion was a military office known as the No. 1 Victoria Street. This was the headquarters of Douglas MacArthur when he was the appointed as the commander of the USAFFE.  

 

 

 

 

Reducto de San Pedro

  

  

Below the bastion is a tunnel that opens to a footbridge leading to Reducto de San Pedro. 

 

  

Reducto de San Pedro is close to the public. It stands on a ground away from the wall. It used to store gunpowder, and also provided additional fortification. It is said to be almost intact after the Liberation and reputedly has a beautiful brick interior. 

 

 

Beaterio de la Compania de Jesus

 

Near MacArthur’s office was the Beaterio de la Compania de Jesus. Located at the corner of Victoria and Santa Lucia Streets, the hermitage for women was founded by a Chinese mestiza from Binondo, the Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo.

 

  

The community was formally established in 1684 under the spiritual direction of the Jesuits. Nick Joaquin gave credit to the beaterio to be “a pioneer for conducting retreats for women –retreats that drew native women as well as Spanish ladies and mestizas. All these women of diverse races lived together during the eight days of each retreat, and together worked, ate, and prayed. Racial integration started in the beaterio.”  

 

 

The beaterio was the motherhouse of what is now known as the Religiosas de la Virgen Maria or R.V.M sisters.

 

Today, the building houses the light and sound museum that presents the history of Intramuros.

 

 

 

Baluarte de San Diego

 

 

 

Reaching the end of Sta Lucia Street is Baluarte de San Diego. Researchers and architects have been debating over the purpose of this structure since it was uncovered by the Intramuros Administration in 1978. The base of what appeared to be a tower-like structure at the Baluarte de San Diego has three concentric circles bisecting into quadrants. Later research proved that the bisecting walls were an addition to the original structure.

 

 

According to Architect Rene Mata, the original structure could have been the part of the oldest stone fort in Intramuros –Nuestra Senora de Guia.  

 

 

A theory claimed the structure to be a foundry. However, not enough materials have been found to prove this theory. The theory that it was once used as a cistern is probably correct because of the stone bear traces of terra cotta overlay for waterproofing.

 

 

The only fact that scientists from the National Museum who worked on the site now agreed on is that the circular foundation is the oldest structure in Intramuros.  

 

Click here to begin at Plaza Roma

Click here to continue Intramuros Tour

 

 

Information sources:

 

Manila, My Manila by Nick Joaquin

Old Manila by Ramon Zaragoza

Two for the Road by Anita Feleo

San Agustin Church

San Agustin Church is the only one of the original seven churches in Intramuros to have survived the American blitzkrieg of 1945. To appreciate its uniqueness we must go back in time to 1571 when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, founder of the first permanent Spanish colony in the Philippines has laid down the plans of what for three hundred plus years was to be known as Intramuros. 

Fray Diego Herrera was only priest with Legazpi at the time. He was assigned to build a church to carry out the orders of King Philip II of Spain “for the spreading of our Catholic faith and the spiritual salvation of the pagans.” The first church erected on site that was a hastily constructed out of bamboo and nipa was ransacked and set on fire by Lim Ah Hong and his band of pirates when they attacked Manila in 1574. After nine years, another fire destroyed the second church. 

Lone Survivor of World War II 

In 1606, a permanent church was built by soldier and architect Juan Macias –it is the church we see today at the intersection of General Luna Street and Calle Real. The sturdy stone church with a Mexican-baroque design and the Chinese granite lion at the churchyard gates has withstood fire, earthquakes and war. One of the two bell towers remained intact after the 1880 earthquake that destroyed the other. 

During the 1945 Battle of Manila, the Japanese soldiers used San Agustin as headquarters and concentration camp for the residents of Intramuros. About 7,000 Intramuros residents were imprisoned in the cloisters. When the smoke cleared, only the stone walls and arches of the old structures in Intramuros jutted out from the piles rubble and debris –except for San Agustin Church that survived with having the Legazpi chapel by the main altar damaged by a direct bomb hit.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site

San Agustin Church earns the title as the oldest building in the Philippines. It is the last genuine heritage symbol of Intramuros. In 1993, the church was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Today, a wedding at San Agustin is much desired because of its artistic interiors and historical significance. The main door is a thing of great beauty. Of carved molave, it has panels depicting symbols of the Augustinian Order together with figures of its founder and his mother –Sta. Monica.

As our eyes adjust to the momentary gloom of the interior, the central nave and its fourteen side chapels gradually come into focus. The richly baroque interior of the church is laid out on a simple Latin cross plan, with the gilded baroque pulpit carved from narra in 1672 is an amazing work merging baroque motif with tropical flora like the pineapple at its base.

The marble blocks of the floor give off a slightly luminous glow, lightening the faces of the people at prayer. Towards and inside the chapels, these blocks become inlaid gravestones of princes of the church, governors and other who have figured in Manila’s history.

By this time the finer details of the church’s massive barrel vault and dome have come to view and below them are the sixteen large, glossy and art nouveau crystal chandeliers imported from Paris at the turn of the century. They illuminate a beautiful trompe l’oeil ceiling painted in 1875 by two Italian artists Juan Dibella and Cesar Alberoni. 

Fittingly, in the chapel to the left of the main altar, lie the remains of the founder of the city of Manila, Legazpi whose reclining bronze statue of was commissioned by Spanish sculptor Juan Miguel Iriarte. 

Exiting the church, we entered the monastery adjoining the church where the country’s most extensive wealth of church art and artifacts are housed in the monastery-turned-San Agustin Museum.

The Fr. Sepulveda Murder Case

 

The best time to visit the San Agustin Church and Museum is when there are no other tourists around. The place is very peaceful. Hearing the water flowing from fountain of the inner patio has a calming effect and listening to the chirping of the birds inside the cloister is relaxing. However, there were times when I begin to feel that I am no longer alone and I need to rush out from the cloisters to find some company (yes, I have a fear for ghosts).  

One of the rooms that make my spine tingle is the Antecoro. For some reason I get goose bumps when I enter this room to get to the Coro or choir loft. Until I’ve learned a story about a murdered priest which added more gloom to this chamber. 

August 1, 1617. Rector Provincial Fr. Vicente Sepulveda was murdered in one of the rooms on the second floor called Sala de San Pablo (named after St. Paul, the patron of the church and monastery).  

In an effort to catch the culprits who were suspected of still being in the monastery, the corpse of the murdered Augustinian Provincial was laid out in the Antecoro; “its arms was propped up such that the index finger pointed at whoever entered the room from the corridor.” The dead body was arranged in such manner to identify the perpetrator by feeling the heart of each friar who came in to pay his respect.  

The murderers were identified. They were sentenced to death by hanging and were buried within the walls of the monastery. 

The focal point of the Antecoro is the intricately carved retablo with the image of the crucified Christ.

 Source: San Agustin: Art and History 1571-2000 by Pedro Galende, OSA