Name of Church: Basilica de San Martin de Tours, Taal City

Location: Calle San Martin, Taal, Batangas

Date of Establishment: The Church was originally built in 1575 and was then rebuilt on its current
location in 1755 following a major eruption by Taal Volcano.

Religious Order:

Materials Used: Built the convent and paved the "processional" road with bricks around the atrium of
the parochial building.

Historical Significance:The Taal Basilica is considered as the largest Catholic Church in Asia. It strengthen
the Filipinos devotion to God and also represent how religious Filipinos are.

Distinct Features:The interior is on the basilica plan, with four bays separated by piers. The apses
have several medieval sculptures, including a 13th-century Christ in the nave. Some of the
capitals have motifs of plant life, human figures or depictions of stories, such as that of Adam
and Eve or the Fox and the Grapes.

Structural Condition:Standing at 96meters and spreading at 45 meters wide at the heart of Taal
Town

Name of church:basilica de san martin de tours

Location: Calle Marcela M. Agoncillo, Poblacion Taal, Batangas

Date of establishment: In 1575, 3 years after the founding of Taal town in its old site near the shores
of Taal Lake, work began on the construction of its first church by Father Diego Espinar (O.S.A.) with
Saint Martin of Tours as patron saint. The church was rebuilt in 1642 using stronger materials but in 1754,
it was destroyed along with the town of Taal in the largest recorded eruption of Taal Volcano. Father
Martn Aguirre donated the land and began the construction of the new church in 1755. It was continued
by Fr. Gabriel Rodriguez in 1777 and by Fr. Jose Victoria in 1782. Fr. Ramon del Marco decorated the
church, built the convent and paved the "processional" road with bricks around the atrium of the parochial
building

Last construction of church was on 1856

Religious order:

Materials used:bricks, Basilica underwent another renovation as sections the church interior were
repainted to its original trompe l'oeil ceilings. The tower was also modified to imitate the old tower
destroyed by the earthquake of 1942, a new set of carillon bells was later installed

The adobe stone slabs which make up the whole structure were dug up in a nearby barrio and
painstakingly carried by menfolk on an uphill climb to the church site. When household duties were done,
the women and children also helped carry sand in their aprons and handkerchiefs from the seashore to
the place of construction. This massive structure of stone was held together by lime and not cement.

Historical significance:

Distinct features: stands 95 meters long and 45 meters wide on a plateau in the heart of Taal.

Structural condition