It’s the Halloween-All Saints-All Souls season once more. And for the longtime readers and followers of the Urban Roamer, I suppose you know what this means. Another trip to some resting place in this busy metropolis.
This time however, we shall not be roaming at a cemetery of yore or of the present. Instead we shall be revisiting a familiar landmark: the Manila Cathedral.
The Battle of Manila that raged from February 3-March 3, 1945 decimated a lot of structures in the city. With the limited resources available for disposal in those times, not all of them managed to be rebuilt after the war, some of them even took a long while for them to be completed. As we continue the #Manila1945 series here, we will be taking a look at some of these structures that were destroyed and have managed to rise again from the ashes of war, though some of them never looked the same way as before.
As I was churning new entries on blog every week of the places I visited, I realize there have been updates coming up about the previous places I’ve been to. So I’ll be doing this feature from time to time called “Roamer’s Roundup” which will provide important updates about the places that have been featured … Read more
There are a lot of interesting places to see in Intramuros, but perhaps one thing that would stand out in this part of the city is the imposing structure that is the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception AKA the Manila Cathedral, the seat of power of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila.
Given the vast influence of the Roman Catholic Church especially during the Spanish colonial era, it is but fitting that its seat in power in the capital city should be the most imposing of them all. Before Rizal monument, the Cathedral was the original “Kilometer 0” where all will begin, so to speak. Even today, as a sign of respect to the heritage of Intramuros, it is decreed under law that no building in the Walled City should exceed the height limit which is the height of the cathedral itself, up to its belltower.