Church of Sts. Peter & Paul (Bauang, La Union)

Posted on 7 April, 2004 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The town’s church, already built around 1873 by Fr. Mariano Garcia, was severely damaged during the 1892 earthquake, restored by Fr. Leonardo Collado in 1895, slightly damaged in 1944 and its interior was painted in 1978 by Fr. Esteban Mosuela. Its facade was damaged during the July 16, 1990 earthquake and was rebuilt. The rectangular, 4-storey bell tower on the left, restored with cement and hollow blocks in 1973, has two bells. The stone convent, built in 1873 by Fr. Mariano Garcia, was destroyed in 1955, was restored and is now the Sacred Heart School.

Church of Sts. Peter & Paul

Church of Sts. Peter & Paul

The plain and sober-looking Neo-Classical facade has a segmented arch main entrance topped by foliage and flanked by four massive Tuscan columns with double capitals and two semicircular arched statued niches. The undulating, low and broken pediment, separated from the lower level by a heavy architrave, has a semicircular arched niche flanked by two less massive and shorter Tuscan columns.

How to Get There: Bauang is located 259.38 kms. (a 5.5-hour drive) from Manila and 9.81 kms. (a 30-min. drive) south of the City of San Fernando.

This travel blog, a diary of the author’s local and international travels, aims to provide the reader with news and information on people, places and events that would interest the avid traveler and tourist. But, it also aims to be much more, providing insights on the wonders of this beautiful country, as well as the world, beyond the strict confines of the city. Have a BLAST seeing old churches, exotic temples, educational museums as well as palm-fringed islands; white sand beaches; thundering waterfalls; placid lakes; fiery sunsets; turquoise seas; cathedral-like caves; swirling rivers; majestic mountains; stupendous, amphitheater-like rice terraces; awesome volcanoes and the like. Get to know the movers and shakers in the tourism industry; find out where to titillate the palate; rejuvenate your body; feed your adrenalin, unwind and relax; satisfy your craving for history and culture; and find out what's being celebrated and where.

BENJAMIN “BENJIE” LAYUG, an architect by profession (he finished his B. S. Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982), is an avid reader, traveler and free-lance travel writer in his spare time, contributing articles to Travel Update, Philippine Daily Inquirer, COLORS, TODAY, 7107 Islands Magazine, Business Day, Bluprint and the Business Mirror.

He is also the author of the following travel books:

A Philippine Odyssey (New Day Publishers, 2005)
Pathfinder’s Travel Guide: Boracay (Great Books Trading, 2006)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches (New Day Publishers, 2007)
A Tourist to Notable Philippine Historical Landmarks, Monuments and Shrines (New Day Publishers, 2010)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Museums (New Day Publishers, 2012)

Some of his books now appear in the local library shelves of the National Library of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Sto. Tomas, U.P. Diliman, Centro Escolar University, San Sebastian College, Miriam College, Silliman University, to name a few, as well as internationally at the National Library of Australia and the University of California Berkeley Library.

Now a senior citizen, he is probably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, active travel blogger in the country today. He also has a lifestyle blog called F.Y.I.:Firing Your Imagination (www.firingyourimagination.blogspot.com). Benjie has traveled to two-thirds (53) of the country’s 81 provinces and over 20 countries in 4 continents.