Romblon Marble Craft

Romblon Island sits on a deposit of marble good enough that the stone has been quarried here since the Spanish period and shipped across the country - the flooring in a great many Philippine churches, hotels and public buildings came off this island. Quarries work the hills behind Romblon town, and along the roads leading out of it are the workshops where the stone is cut, turned and carved: the mortar and pestle sets found in every Filipino kitchen, tiles and slabs, tabletops, religious statuary, chess sets and souvenirs, produced by workers who mostly learned the trade from family. Visitors can watch cutting and polishing and buy directly at prices well below Manila. It is dusty, noisy work. Romblon town itself is a small port with two Spanish forts on the hills and a cathedral holding a venerated crucifix, and the province's beaches are on the surrounding islands.

What you actually see

• The cutting and polishing - slabs and blocks worked in the shops.
• The mortar and pestle - the island's most familiar product.
• The carvers - statuary and sculpture in progress.
• The quarries - the worked hills behind the town.

When to go

December to May for calm ferry crossings. Weekday working hours to see the shops in operation; many close on Sundays.

Honest expectations

These are working shops - dusty, loud and not set up for visitors. Ask before photographing. Marble is heavy; think about how you will carry anything you buy. Ferries to Romblon are weather-dependent.

Nearby

Fort San Andres is above the town; Bonbon Beach and the Romblon group's islands are close.