Description of the attraction
Mägao Church was built in 1797 by Spanish monks from the Augustinian order. Once it served as a fortress. In 1993, this amazing building, which mixed features of Aztec architecture and Baroque style, was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. The church, built of yellowish limestone in the town of Iloilo in the province of the same name on Panay Island, is famous for its intricately decorated façade and pyramidal bell towers. The front façade, flanked by two watchtowers, displays a striking mix of Spanish and Filipino motifs.
The main feature of the bas-relief of the facade is a huge coconut tree stretching almost to the very roof. This tree is an indispensable attribute of the typical Filipino landscape and the object of numerous legends. According to one old Philippine legend, the coconut tree was the only item inherited from the mother to her two children, it was the palm tree that helped them survive. On the facade of the church, a coconut tree is depicted in the image of the "tree of life" on which Saint Christopher is leaning, carrying the baby Jesus on his shoulders. On the sides of the main entrance are carved bas-reliefs of the Pope and Saint Henry with their heraldic shields. Other facades of the church depict the daily life of the indigenous population over the past hundreds of years. Here you can also see images of local flora and fauna, as well as folk costumes.
The church, along with the watchtowers, performed another important function - it served to protect local residents from the raids of the warlike Moro tribe. That is why the walls of the church are so thick - about 1.5 meters, and somewhere underground, according to rumors, secret passages are laid. One of the watchtowers-bell towers is two-storied, the second is three-storied.
The Mägao Church has experienced many natural disasters that destroyed buildings around, but itself could not stay away from the two bloody wars. It was burned twice - during the revolution against the Spanish colonialists in 1898 and during the occupation of Panay Island by the Japanese in 1942-44. After the liberation of the island in 1945, the inhabitants of Panay collectively took up the reconstruction of the temple.
Today, Magao Church is deservedly considered one of the main architectural masterpieces of the Philippines, thanks to its unique and majestic design, decorations and bas-reliefs.
