Vigan, Colonial heritage city in Ilocos Sur, Philippines
Vigan is a colonial settlement in Ilocos Sur province on Luzon Island, whose center consists of a grid of lanes lined with one- and two-story stone houses. The facades show glazed wooden galleries, thick walls built from coral stone, and broad, flat roofs made of fired tiles.
The settlement grew on the site of a Chinese trading post that Spanish forces occupied from 1572 and transformed into a fortified administrative center. The new town served for three centuries as a base for the galleon trade and control of the northern coast.
The streets are crossed by kalesas, two-wheeled carriages with wooden wheels that remain in regular use for local transport. Their rhythmic hoofbeats on the cobblestones shape the soundscape of the old town.
The historic lanes are quieter in the early morning and late afternoon, when the light softens on the facades and fewer travelers move around. The center can be explored on foot, with sturdy shoes recommended because of the uneven cobblestones.
In the walls of many buildings, coral blocks were used as construction material, extracted from the nearby seabed and leaving often visible porous patterns on the exterior walls. This porosity helped keep tropical moisture away from the interior spaces.
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