One of the oldest structure in the place
By Daddy Neil
@neildc (17238)
Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
January 28, 2010 8:41pm CST
Here is another photo from my camera that I have taken from the place, Argao, Cebu.
It says that Argao church is the second oldest church in the Island of Cebu and is one of the oldest in the Philippines. Originally built in 1734 but the interiors, most of them are still original even some of the parts of them were being replaced due to age.
Also considered as one of the oldest in the country, the bell tower has 8 bells in it and a clock, and still in good condition, though 3 of the bells are reportedly unusable now.
Unfortunately, I have no image of the interiors of the church so I can't give you a look inside, but they say that this church is the most decorated. You can see the ceiling, the paintings on it, told to be made by two of the best muralists in the country, when it was painted.
Being a former Catholic, I still adore churches like this one.
Now, let us share something old in your place. It shouldn't be a church, but anything old structure that you have. It could be nice if you could also post a picture but if there is no available in your computer, you can still share it by describing it in words.
Happy Lotting, friends...
3 people like this
7 responses
@ckyera (17331)
• Philippines
29 Jan 10
hello neil!
wow! looks like you are not yet finish with argao! hehe, but nice way of showing the world how beautiful this place is...
i have seen that church as well and i must say that its really nice, but i was not able to see the interior. i am not a catholic as well but i do appreciate the old churches...its like saying many things about our past...
was this church older than the church in Boljoon?
well here in Cebu there's really a lot of old structure specially churches...
in my place in calamba, laguna, i don't really know what are the oldest structure there...but i think its also the church. coz rizal shrine is not that old since it just a restored structure...
i have been in taal, batangas some years ago and i really love those old houses there that according to the people was built way back spanish era...
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
29 Jan 10
i am not sure of it, but i guess the Basilica of Santo Niño, in Cebu City is the oldest one. it could be older than the Argao church, but for sure, both are one of the oldest, as we can see from their design and the materials used to build them.
my wife's from argao, so maybe, i couldn't be stopped from sharing the beauty of it. 
i still have more pictures in my camera but i will try to capture some more when i have the chance.
though i wanted to share some more of the other parts of the province and of my hometown, bulacan, i don't have much knowledge of them. so with this province, i still have to explore the place. with bulacan, next time to try.
i still have more pictures in my camera but i will try to capture some more when i have the chance.
though i wanted to share some more of the other parts of the province and of my hometown, bulacan, i don't have much knowledge of them. so with this province, i still have to explore the place. with bulacan, next time to try. @ckyera (17331)
• Philippines
29 Jan 10
ah okay...hehe i am not also that familiar with which is the older...hehe but all i know is that the oldest structures here in our place are usually those catholic churches...
maybe in bulacan, barasoain church will be one of them...
and i can't blame you, coz even i myself was amazed in the beauty of argao...that even makes me wish that my husband will be assigned there one time...haha
and their park there is nice, the one fronting the church and the municipal hall... very nice and good place to relax...
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
29 Jan 10
barasoain church could be one of the oldest, i can agree with you to that. someday i will try to search for some information about bulacan.
one more thing that i love with argao is the free wifi within the vicinity of the municipal grounds. the plaza in the picture is where people spends some times in the place, especially at night time to go online. they just bring their laptops and surf until they get tired.
in the picture, the statue of jose rizal is facing the hall of justice. at the right of the image is the municipal hall, at the left is the church.
@repzkoopz (1895)
• Philippines
29 Jan 10
back in december, we went to my dad's homeland in Talaga, Argao. one time, my wife, daughter, and mother-in-law went to mass in this church. when they got back, they had a ton of stories of how beautiful this church is, even if its centuries old.
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
29 Jan 10
glad to hear that from you. so what are the stories about the church that you can share? this photo was actually taken last december too. and where are you from, my friend?
@repzkoopz (1895)
• Philippines
29 Jan 10
i can barely recall the details but my wife and mother-in-law was really excited while telling their stories and my 3 yr old daughter really had fun going around the church. one thing i can remember is the part where they said some of the pillars were "carved" to give in to the deposed when they are transferred from their graves.
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
29 Jan 10
i asked my wife regarding those graves and said, they are of those priests who served the parish in the early days.
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
2 Feb 10
The oldest structures in California are probably the missions, which date from the late 1700's. They were built by catholic missionaries and most of them have been restored. Most of our oldest buildings in the Sacramento area date back to the late 1840's during the gold rush era, for example Sutter's Mill where the first gold was discovered here. Here is a link where you can learn more about the missions: http://missions.bgmm.com/
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
3 Feb 10
thanks dawn for the information and for the link to the missions website. 
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
29 Jan 10
I am enjoying your pictures. I owned an old building downtown that was over a 100 years old at one time. it was a great old building. i had two buisnessees in it that i ran for about 10 years. it had 3 levels & beautiful tin ceilings that the new owner covered up. i really hated he did that but it was his to do whatever he wanted. it was once a department store to start with, i had my beauty shop & an antique store in it.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
29 Jan 10
Sorry, don't have a picture to share. It is a mexican restaurant now & u can't see one sign of the old store, very sad to me.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
30 Jan 10
Sorry friend, my place does not have any single old structure. It has been so modernized already. This is the reason why I love going to places where traces of the olden days could still be found like Vigan City, I love Vigan and I think if I have the chance I will visit it again. It is just too far from Manila but it is well worth the time and effort. Cebu is another wonderful place. I have those old structures will be continuously preserved. Have a nice weekend!
Have a nice weekend!@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
30 Jan 10
i also wished to see Vigan. I can only see those great old structures of the city in movies or some television shows.
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
30 Jan 10
Nice photo you got there buddy. You just inspired me to take photos of churches here in Metro Manila. I will post it here as soon as i get back my camera. I don't really go to church often by i pass by a couple everyday. I think it would be worthy to take photos of these churches and post it. The oldest church nearest me is Baclaran church but maybe i can start with those around makati.
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
30 Jan 10
we are looking forward to that. maybe you can also take some shots of the biggest, or the most decorated or the one with the most beautiful interiors. usually, we only see the frontages but not the inside, especially those like me who are not catholics or are former catholic.
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
29 Jan 10
Hi Neil,
That church is really pretty, Unfortunaly I don't have pictures in my computer because whatever I have taken of old buildings, it was from my old camera and I haven't taken any from my recent camers yet. Hugs.
Tamara
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
29 Jan 10
hi tamara. thanks for the response. there are still a lot of images i wanted to share with you. and i really appreciate that you like the ones i already shared. i wanted to get some more images around the province so i can share you a lot more. one day, i will plan for it.
