Essay About Intramuros

Intramuros, also called as the Walled City, was the capital of the Philippines during the period of Spanish colonization. It was surrounded with stone walls, keeping enemies away from invading the city. However, the walls were largely destroyed during the Second World War. It was then reconstructed so that the visitors from all over the world can see how the Philippines was like during the period of Spanish colonization. Baluarte de San Diego is a part of the Spanish colonial fortification in Intramuros which was constructed by a Jesuit priest, Antonio Sedeno. It was originally designed to prevent invasion. It helped the Filipinos to survive wars, earthquakes, and the ravages during the Spanish era. Thus, some parts were destroyed during

It was the first religious structure built by the Spaniards in Luzon Island. It was damaged by the British forces in the 18th century, American forces in the 19th century, followed by the Japanese forces in the 20th Century. The exhibits and artifacts in the museum illustrate the European discovery and Christian evangelization of the Philippines led by the Augustinians, the first missionary order in the country. The museum has a shape of a square with four hallways or corridors centering the courtyard. And each room in the museum follows themes that display the Augustinians’ love of God, art and beauty, wisdom, song and music, science, culture and education. First, on the ground floor, the first room we went to is Sala De La Capitulacion. Inside the room, I found church artifacts, statues, and many more that tells the story about the surrender of Manila to the Americans by the Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes. In the second room is Sacristy, wherein more statues and paintings were found including an alter with 22 gold niches made in 1650. Lastly in the third room is Refactory - Sala Profundis/Crypt, which was used for dining by the priest before it changed to a mausoleum. On the second floor, the first room I entered is San Pablo Hall. There were paintings and a scaled model of the San Agustin Church and the museum. Next room I went to is San Agustin Hall which contained photos and pictures of churches built by the Augustinians in the Philippines. Next I entered the Porcelain Room wherein collections of artifacts from Chinese-Philippine trading were displayed. The fourth room I entered is the Orator/Anechior/Choirloft wherein I saw many people attending the Mass in San Agustin Church. The fifth room I went to is the Church Vestments. I saw different clothing worn by official priests in the past. Lastly, after going down, I went to