When Filipinos think of the Spanish colonial era, Vigan immediately comes to mind.

That is because in the Philippines, the largest concentration of bahay-na-bato houses to survive from the Spanish era is in Vigan.

The name “Vigan” is now generic, wrongly associated by Filipinos with anything Spanish colonial regardless of its place of origin or of its proper historic name. Filipinos call any bahay-na-bato a “Vigan house,” old furniture “Vigan furniture,” and terra-cotta tiles “Vigan tiles.”

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Vigan was the third most important city in the Philippines after Manila and Cebu, two cities now totally modernized and practically clones of each other; they have pretty much lost their identities.

Vigan is the only town in the country that has retained most of its Spanish colonial architecture. It is the only city in the country that has a distinct identity of its own.

Since it was inscribed on the World Heritage List as the “Historic Town of Vigan,” it has realized the universal value of its heritage. Now strict legislation enforces the preservation of that heritage which is appreciated not only by local residents but also by the large numbers of tourists that visit.

In 1572, the Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo founded Villa Fernandina on an island in the Abra River delta in what is now Ilocos Sur province. Upon his appointment as lieutenant governor (or encomendero) of the Ilocos, Salcedo made Vigan his capital. It was the political and economic center of the region which became the religious center when the seat of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia was transferred to Vigan in 1758 from Lallo in Cagayan.

The name “Vigan” comes from a giant plant, bigaa, growing abundantly on the banks of Mestizo River.

Originally, Vigan was a triangular-shaped island reached by a causeway connecting it to Bantay, a town in the Ilocos Sur mainland. The causeway still exists but the rivers have silted over and Vigan is no longer an island.

Mestizo River was central in the development of Vigan’s economy during the 18th and 19th centuries when sea-going ships could still berth at its delta. Today the river is no longer navigable and Vigan has lost its maritime trade.

When it was a maritime-trade center, produce from the region was traded with goods shipped directly from China. Vigan also participated in the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade by supplying the thick hand-woven cloth used as sails for the galleons.

The architecture and urban layout of Vigan reflect the foreign influences brought by its former trade connections with China, Mexico and Spain.

Spanish layout

The street layout of Vigan follows the checkerboard pattern of straight streets radiating from a central plaza as specified by Ley de las Indias, a law by King Phillip II of Spain written in the 17th century that all new towns built in the Spanish empire had to follow.

In the Mestizo District of Vigan still exists the largest concentration of bahay-na-bato architecture in the country, where Ilocano tradition meets with the Filipino, Chinese and Latino. However, it is interesting to note the district derives its name from the affluent families of Ilocano-Chinese descent that live there rather than Filipino-Spanish families.

Despite the Latino-Christian overlay to the local culture, the patterns of daily life, business practices, and architecture all reflect the dominant Chinese influence that reinforces the values of frugality, hard work and entrepreneurship.

Following Chinese lifestyle traditions, Vigan entrepreneurs conducted their businesses from the ground floor of their homes where an office and warehouses were located. The living quarters were always above the working area, following the shophouse tradition in other Asian cities like Penang, Pekalongan, Singapore and the older sections of Bangkok.

All of the houses in the Mestizo District are typical of the Spanish colonial era. They are built of natural materials: terra-cotta tiles, wood, capiz, of adobe stone or bricks joined and sometimes covered with lime mortar. All natural construction materials were gathered from the local surroundings.

Traditional

The architecture of the typical Vigan house is derived from the traditional bahay-kubo, or bahay-na-nipa. This is the traditional one-room dwelling built of light, woven materials (wood, bamboo, thatch), raised off the ground on stilts for ventilation and protection from seasonal monsoon floods. The space underneath the dwelling was always left open.

The much larger bahay-na-bato found in the Mestizo District is an outgrowth of the bahay-na-nipa. The bahay-na-bato is of two stories, solidly enclosed with stone walls on the ground level for protection.

The second level is constructed completely out of wood. Its roof, covered with terra-cotta tile, is steeply pitched and sometimes flares out at the eaves, reminding us of Chinese influence.

The exterior walls of the family quarters on the second level were enclosed with sliding window panels of capiz framed in a wood lattice, reminiscent of the shoji panels found in Japanese houses.

Upon sliding the panels open, the outer walls disappear completely, allowing light and air to freely enter within.

The family quarters opened freely to admit the air and sky. In contrast, the ground floor was sturdy and sometimes forbidding.

The architectural details of the bahay-na-bato harmoniously combine Filipino, Chinese, Spanish and Mexican influences, all skillfully adapted to the tropical weather and the Filipino lifestyle.

All Vigan houses have similar proportions (height, massing and roof shape). They share related architectural detailing, and are built of the same materials.

Standing at the edges of their properties, they form a solid wall of houses along both sides of the narrow streets, an urban arrangement that gives Vigan its distinctive Filipino-Chinese-Latino appearance unique to the Philippines, globally recognized as a World Heritage site.