Urbano, Frances Diane T.

March 15,2016
Batangas Fieldtrip
Batangas Adventure: A Glimpse Of The Past
Batangas is a province that is rich in heritage sites and cultural materials that ranges from
the Palaeolithic to the most recent Protohistoric period and Spanish Colonial Period. Taal,
specifically, is famous for its old houses, churches, and ruins. In archaeology, church ruins are a
common and treasured feature that have a great archaeological and ecological significance and
potential. These kind of structures tell a lot about the uniqueness and history of the province.
Few of the structures that we were able to see in Taal, Batangas were Escuela Pia, Casa
Real, and Basilica San Martin de Tours. For each structure we see, we were given a brief history by
our tour guide. The Escuela Pia is formerly a school supervised by the church in the 17 th century. It
is one of the odest educational instituion in the country. Today, it is know considered a cultural
center. Casa Real, on the other hand, is a Spanish municipal government building established in 18 th
century. It is the only building in town that has a tile roof. The Basilica San Martin de Tours, simply
known as the Taal Basilica, has a facade made of bricks and adobe. It is considered as the biggest
Catholic Church in Asia and is famous as wedding venue. Many celebrities, such as Ogie Alcasid
and his first wife, has been married in this chruch. This church has also been declared as a country's
National Shrine.
We also visited ancestral house. One of it is the Casa Villavicencio. It was the home of
Gliceria Marella Villavicencio, the godmother of the revolutionary forces. It is an old Spannish
colonial house that was established in 1850. The house and its furniture are still well taken care of.
In this house, we were also offered snack featuring the best delicacies of Taal, Batangas. We also
had time to pass by the Our Lady of Caysasay. It is famous for the Virgin of Lady Caysasay. It was
said that the image was found glowing by a local fisherman. Nearby this church is the spring called
the Santa Lucia well. It is believe that two women saw the reflection of the Lady of Caysasay in this
well thus it is beieved that the water from this well has miraculous healing powers.

Our next destination has been Batangas City. In this city we were oriented more on the
history and culture of the province itself. We passed by the Batangas City Cathedral on our way to
Museo Punto Batangas. This is a museum made possible by the current mayor of Batangas City,
Eduardo B. Dimacuha. It is the first Philippine museum built on a massive research effort that
looked through performed and oral tradittions of more than a hundred barangays comprising this
city. It is also the first in focusing on specific bodies of knowledge conveyed by rural folks that
identifies Batangas City's principal culture bearers. Also, this museum had raised the standards for
research and interpretation for local community museums. In this museum, we basically learned
about the province's origin and cuture. It showcases detailed history of Batangas. It also showcases
several culture, photographs, and video production about the local community.
The Pastor House has been our last destination for this trip. It was constructed by Alejo
Acosta in 1883. Story says that Governor General Howard Taft, the Governor General assigned in
the Philippines during American Occupation, had a failed assassin as he visited this house. Up till
know, the bullet used is still stucked in the wood frame of the door of this house. One thing that
really amazed me about this structure is that it was restored by my former Arch 16 professor, Arch.
Rene Luis Mata. It has been an honor being able to visit one of his work as an architect. I may have
not observed the architectural details of the facade of the structure because it was kind of dark
already, but I was abe to experience the indoor of it.
Observing the architecture details of the heritage sites and churches made me realize how
clever each structure was built. Not only they were structures built to please the eyes but also made
to give comfort to whoever uses the structure. I was really impressed on how cool it is inside the
structure despite the striking hotness of the sun outside. This made me think how architecture is
very helpful in coping with different weather conditions just like how we discussed this topic in our
class. It find it helpful being able to observe and experience different architecture style so I can base
it on my experiences. Thus this will further help me improve on how socio-cultural factors
determine my style of designing structures. More over, these structures were also well-built as they

still withstand to this date. It can also be observed from the heritage houses that some details or
features of it are still being implemented to these days. Lastly, I have observed that most houses and
structures'facade built in this province were bricks and concrete. The interior however were
commonly made of wood which give fresh ambience.