O Santa Maria Nalibnoska: A heritage church, a pride of the town but humbled by faith
In Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, it was always a great thing to check out another architectura wonder which is the Our Lady of Assumption Parish Church but more popular as the Santa Maria Church It is a earthquake baroque in style, designated as a UNECO HERITAGE SITE in December 11, 1993. It is located on top of a hill thus it stands as a pride of the town, wherein according to a legend, the image of the Virgin Mary was in Bulala but it was frequently disappearing and always found in a guava tree located in the hill thus the townspeople decided to relocate the church to its present location in the hill. The construction started in 1756 then the belfry in 1810 but what I find interesting aside from the church and the belfry is the stair going up the church, if you have your own vehicle, you can reach the church with an alternative route at the other side and stops at the back of the altar.
You can see the municipal hall and auditorium as well as a view of the sea when you are looking at the western side of the church and when you look at the eastern side, you can have a look at the old cemetery now covered with bushes and weeds with ruins of an old chapel and graveyards.
Aside from the UNESCO, the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) installed a marker next to the door of Santa Maria Church following Executive Order nos. 260 on August 1, 1973, 376 on January 14, 1974 and 1515 on June 11, 1978 declaring the Santa Maria Church as a National Historical Landmark. Then when you enter the church, you can see the image of Our Lady of the Assumption, It was made of wood in ornate sculptural style with ivory face and hands. It is 112 centimetres (44 in) tall. Her hands are extended wide and her head is looking upward portraying her assumption into heaven. Her blue cape is decorated with silver floral designs and her white dress is embroidered with gold thread motif. She stands on a pedestal of cloud surrounded by angels’ heads. This image with her bejeweled dress was kept in an elaborate carved wooden chest believed to have used for cargo in galleon ship. Her feast day is August 15.
More photos in
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Airwind07/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1370641446290895
View my posts at my social
media accounts:
IG: @airwindzone
FB Page: www.facebook.com/airwind07
Blog: http://airwindbautista.blogspot.com
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento