Читать книгу Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General Information онлайн

42 страница из 64

The Cathedral, Walled City, Manila

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST

Churches You will find them at every turn. To see her churches alone, in detail—St. Augustine’s, built in 1599, with its ceiling of solid stone nearly four feet thick, and the illustrious dead beneath its hardwood floor; St. Sebastian’s of solid steel made in Belgium and brought out in sections and assembled; St. Ignatius’ and others with exquisitely carved woodwork, the work of Filipinos; their altars, statues and paintings—to appreciate their architecture and the engineering skill that erected them would require not days or weeks, but months.

The Cathedral Special mention should be made of the Cathedral, the historic edifice which has witnessed so many rare and brilliant ceremonies. It is a most ornate and yet harmonious structure. The massive dome can be seen from far out at sea. The nave of the cathedral is of most majestic proportions and its pillars and clusters, with their gilded capitals, are handsome. The cupola rises to an immense height and has an inside balcony. Its four corners are frescoed, and the subjects are the “Four Evangelists.” A beautiful sky, with angel heads, upon which stands the statue of the Immaculate Concepcion, is just above the high altar and around it, in sort of a frieze, are the heads of the apostles, while in the transepts, are the heads of the prophets, kings, and patriarchs. The architecture of the cathedral is of Roman Byzantine Style.