Philippine North Trail - Sta Maria Church

April 18, 2019

Mabuhay!

This is a photo and video journal of our travel to the historic city of Ilocos Sur featuring our visit to Sta. Maria Church with the official name of The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption officially listed on the UNESCO world heritage site on December 11, 1993.

Getting There

Our north trail travel itinerary includes:

1. The Maria Church in Sta. Maria, Ilocos Norte

2. The Historic Vigan City in Ilocos Sur

3. The San Agustin Church of Paoay, Ilocos Norte

4. The Ferdinand Marcos Sr. museum in Batac Ilocos, Norte

5. Luna brother's museum in Badoc, Ilocos Norte

6. Sta. Catalina Beach in Ilocos Sur

The travel time from our point of departure to the first itinerary is around 5 hours. 

The High Staircase Going Up

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), commonly known as the Santa Maria Church is the parish church of Santa Maria in Ilocos Sur province, Philippines. The church was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on December 11, 1993 as part of the Baroque Churches of the Philippines, a collection of four Baroque Spanish-era churches.

The Santa Maria Church is an attraction to tourists and Catholics in Ilocos Sur. It is a reminder of the four centuries of Spanish domination of that area and a unique structure with a diversified architectural design of bricks and mortar. It was built on top of a hill a lookout and a citadel as well as a religious center during the early administration of the region by friars and soldiers of Spain.

Front & Right Side

The main building material used in the construction of this magnificent edifice is hand-molded clay brick. Clay is very abundant in the Philippines so the quarry where they get this material is most likely nearby. Clay brick building construction is rapidly gaining popularity at that time due to durability since the Philippines is most of the time visited by strong typhoons & earthquakes. Also, it absorbs the heat of the sun during the daytime and then releases heat just before sundown.

Egg white plays a vital role in the construction of most churches in the Philippines. Egg white is mixed with limed sand thus creating a mortar mixture that is very durable. The durability of this construction methodology is proven by the existence of this old structure to date. Filipinos used more egg yolk in their cooking recipes so there is a surplus of egg white that can be used in construction.

The wall on this side has a bas relief. A bas relief is a decorative architectural ornament such as sculpture, carving or molding that protrudes on a wall surface.

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The Rear Side

The Left Side

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The Bell Tower

The Bas relief

The wall on this side has a bas relief. A bas relief is a decorative architectural ornament such as sculpture, carving or molding that protrudes on a wall surface.

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The Interior

The interior of this church is just simple with few decorative ornaments on the altar. The ceiling is just painted white with no intricate paintings just like most of Philippine old churches. 

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Souvenir Pictures

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Be sure to treasure every moment of your life. Keep on traveling!