President Quirino’s ancestral home in Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Vigan, Ilocos Sur has earned the UNESCO Heritage List as an entire city preserved like a museum. Calle Crisologo bears that mark very well, with its cobblestone streets and Spanish homes. Still another famous landmark in Vigan is the ancestral home of President Elpidio Quirino and his wife Dona Alicia Syquia-Quirino – the Syquia Mansion.
image used with permission by Flickr: cb_agulto
The mansion was built in 1830 and now houses an impressive collection of antiques and presidential memorabilia. Some of the images of the house showcase several artifacts and signs of the nobility of the original occupants.
This is a view of the master’s bedroom and the four-poster bed. You can’t see it clearly here, but that bed was made without any nails! Stakes were used to put the pieces together. Even from this distance, you can guess how intricate the details are. An emblem and the S-Q initials at the headboard suggest nobility, writes Jett. (image used with permission by Flickr: probinshawina)
Pictured below are men’s canes, a popular accessory during the Spanish era. According to Jett, the more canes a man displays, the richer and more popular he is.
image used with permission by Flickr: cb_agulto
A view of the facade. There are more images and photos of this beautiful mansion. Jett’s blog has close-ups of several artifacts, and she describes them in detail.
Trivia: The house was built in 1830 by Justo Angco and given as a gift to his daughter Estefania when she wed Gregorio Syquia in 1875.
image used with permission by Flickr: cb_agulto
A visitor remarked that the Syquia mansion is almost always close, except for that one day they were there. There is no fee to visit the place since the Quirino family still use the house on occasion, but a donation would be welcome by the caretaker.
Comments Off