The Baroque Churches

When Spanish missionaries built in the Philippines they had to solve a problem European architecture had never faced at this scale: earthquakes. What emerged is sometimes called earthquake baroque, and its signature is the buttress, thickened and multiplied until the churches look less like places of worship than fortifications. Four of them carry a joint UNESCO listing. San Agustin in Manila is the oldest stone church in the country, completed in 1607 and the only structure in Intramuros to survive the destruction of 1945. Paoay in Ilocos Norte is the most photographed, its flanks braced by fourteen enormous scrolled buttresses. Santa Maria stands on a hill reached by a long stone stairway, and Miagao in Iloilo carries a facade relief of Saint Christopher under a coconut palm, a detail that is entirely and unmistakably local.

What you actually see

• Paoay Church - the massive scrolled buttresses and separate coral-stone bell tower.
• San Agustin, Manila - the 1607 interior with trompe-l'oeil ceiling and adjoining museum.
• Santa Maria Church - on its hilltop above a long stone stair, ringed by a brick wall.
• Miagao Church - the facade carving of Saint Christopher beneath a coconut palm.

When to go

November to April is dry across most of the country. These are working parish churches, so weddings and Sunday masses affect access; weekday mornings are the surest time to see the interiors.

Honest expectations

The four are hundreds of kilometres apart and cannot sensibly be done as one trip; treat them as stops on separate regional itineraries. Interiors have been restored to varying standards and some are plainer than the exteriors suggest. As active churches, respectful dress and quiet are expected, and photography during services is not.

Nearby

Vigan's colonial streets are close to Santa Maria; Intramuros surrounds San Agustin in Manila.