BATANG GALA

 I was ashamed that in 22 years of my existence, I never tried to visit Intramuros. So I grabbed the opportunity to took a glimpse of it after our group interview with Mr. Melo Acuna of Radio Tapat and I was amazed with the well-preserved Spanish era and I liked it. It’s still part of our identity though as a Filipino.

and my Intramuros visit is incomplete without entering the Manila Cathedral.

Manila Cathedral is one of the grandly design churches produced by the Spaniards as they spread the Christianity in the Philippines.

and this Neo-Romanesque-Byzantine cathedral has long been the seat of archbishop in the Philippines. And it continuous to be one of the most admired churches in the country.

and who doesn’t know about the famous “La Pieta” ,a 5-foot, 8-inch sculpture carved out of a single block of marble by Michelangelo Buonarroti. An Italian painter, architect, poet, and most famously, sculptor. He was one of the most influential artists in an era called the Italian Renaissance, the period roughly from 1400-1600 during which Europe saw economic prosperity, religious fervor, and a passionate expansion of learning, science, and the arts.

The term Pietà refers to the subject of Christ in the lap of his mother, the Virgin Mary, after he has been crucified and removed from the cross. During the Renaissance, the Pietà was a very common theme in France and Germany. So when the French cardinal Jean de Bilhères Lagraulas approached the young Michelangelo to create a sculpture for the cardinal’s future tomb in Old St. Peter’s Basilica, the subject was not surprising. What amazed people was how Michelangelo used the marble stone to capture the theme.

In the sculpture, Jesus is draped across Mary’s lap as she looks down upon his body in grief. Whereas most Italian artists portrayed Christ during his crucifixion and emphasized his wounds and suffering, Michelangelo’s sculpture is calm, and almost tranquil, but still full of sadness. The wounds on Jesus’ hands and feet from being nailed to the cross are small. He looks almost has if he has fallen asleep, not been the victim of a violent execution. The focus is on the relationship between Christ and his mother, not the crucifixion itself. (education-portal.com)

but I must say that these windows adds color to the beauty of Cathedral.

We also visited Casa Manila Museum. Entering the museum  reminds me of how the rich and prominent families of Manila lived during the turn of the century.

The Casa Manila is a copy of a 1850’s San Nicolas House that was once located in Calle Jaboneros. At the first floor it is rented out to small businesses, like what they do during the old times. The second and third floor is a museum that exposes the Architecture and the Interior design that was lost when the old families abandoned their old domains in Old Manila. (theurbanhistorian.tumblr.com)

The Casa Manila Museum is one part of many colonial style houses in the Plaza San Luis Complex in Intramuros, Manila. It is open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9AM to 6PM The Casa Manila is just beside the San Agustin Church.

Manila in Details.