The Structure of Barasoain Church
The Structure of Barasoain Church
The Structure of Barasoain Church
Ipinasa ni: Richard Kenneth U. Bandiola Ipinasa kay: Sr. Ma. Margherita E. Mondano, OSBS Ipinasa noong: ika-14 ng Disyembre, 2012
Barasoain Church was founded by Augustinian Missionaries. Built on the 1630, the original church was destroyed in a fire in 1884 prompting various renovations. After the original church was destroyed by fire, the structure underwent several renovations. The way it looks today is not too different from how it looked during the time of Emilio Aguinaldo. The structure itself was very similar to the Church during the Spanish era.
Like any other church built during the Spanish era, the edifice was of the church-convento style, a typical portrayal of the Spanish colonial architecture in the Philippines and in Spanish-America. At its right is a bell tower, just a few meters higher than the main building. Symmetry is the predominant theme of the architectural structure of the facade, with balanced formation of arched windows on the sides and two small doors beside the main entrance. To suggest movement, ribbed vaulting had been done in the doors, arched windows and rose window at the middle. The Barasoain Church Historical Landmark consists of two structures: the church and the adjoining convent. While the left outside of the Church is a medieval bell tower, the entrance of which has bamboo arches linings and its sides are rose windows. Its architectural design is simple however. The faade shows a Neo-Classical touch with recessed main rhythmic layers. The main entrance has a Romanesque feature with its concentric arches flanked by two smaller
doors, fluted flat pilasters which speak a Renaissance feature, and a Baroque segmental pediment and sharp line moldings at the cornice base and top of the piers. The two sides of the faade, with its sweeping concave lines at the upper wall, curve inward to form an oval shape. Inside is an exceptional 18th century altar frontal with beautiful stone columns and murals on the walls and ceilings done by Baliwag artists and the National Historical Institute. It is now air-conditioned during Sunday Masses. It has paintings in its ceilings and domes which makes it look bigger than its actual size. The altar in the inside has glimmering lights despite the church's historical reputation. Aside of which, floral motifs, frescoes of angels and saints embellish the interior of the Church. The church houses two museums: Church Ecclesiastical Museum and the Churchs Historical Landmarks History Museum. The Barasoain Church Ecclesiastical Museum has been a repository of important artifacts found within the vicinity of the province, the Churchs Historical Landmarks History Museum concerns on preserving the fruits of the Philippine Revolution as well as freedom and the Filipinos heritage of democracy.
The Historical Museum was dedicated to the three historical events that took place in the church. While the Barasoain Church Ecclesiastical Museum has been a repository of important artifacts found within the vicinity of the province, the Church's Historical Landmarks History Museum concerns on preserving the fruits of the Philippine Revolution as well as freedom and the Filipinos' heritage of democracy. The past comes alive through a dramatized audio-visual presentation recalling the declaration of Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite, on June 12, 1898. A facsimile of El Heraldo de la Revolution, the official newspaper of the First Republic, is engraved in glass. There is also a permanent exhibit of the Philippine Constitution, from the Katipunan Kartilya of 1892 to the Constitution of 1987. So that you will learn to treasure the value of the Constitution as the national legal document, there is a Citizens Hall where you can exercise one of your constitutional rightsthe right to vote.