A Quick visit at St. Augustine Church and Bell Tower, Bantay, Ilocos Sur

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St Augustine Parish Church...
From Vigan City comes the next place to see, the Bantay, Ilocos Sur's St Augustine's Church and it's surprisingly quite distant Bell Tower as compared to the usual tandem which they dubbed as the Sinking Bell Tower.
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The Church's entrance.
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The shrine of our lady of charity.
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Our lady of charity.

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Looks like a castle in the air but this is a bell tower...

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Getting on top of the tower is rewarding as the Ilocos breeze is refreshingly felt in contrast to the heat outside. This must be dubbed as sinking considering the structure is inside is just supported by planks and and the way up is by the installed wooden stairs... I can see the prominent cracks. In years time, the visitors may not be allowed to go up given this condition of the tower.

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There are many steps to take before going inside the bell tower. 

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Well, missing the Ilocos breeze someday on top of the bell tower will not make the site a favorite considering the bell tower is towering on a hill and its contrast on the sky is a surreal subject for photographers. Also, it is a chance for some camera tricks like we did there! Check out.... 



Carrying the tower on my head....the trick i mentioned...

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Leaning on the bell tower...

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Pushing the tower is no heavy task given the smile...

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Finger pointing the tower...

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One of my favorite shots of the bell. There are four small bells on the side windows and one big bell in the center...

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One of my favorite dramatic shots of my sister...

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From the bell tower, the town's cemetery.

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Taken from the tower, the towns fully occupied cemetery with two mountains in the background!

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“St. Augustine Church in Bantay is one of the oldest churches of Ilocos Sur, it was built in 1590 with Fr. Montoya, as the first parish priest. The Augustinian friars named it after St. Augustine, the Patron Saint. The church was damaged during the World War II but was reconstructed in 1950. The restored facade is of neo-gothic design mixed with pseudo-Romanesque materials and elements. Its grandiose design afforded a reminiscent of the old Spanish architecture using indigenous materials, which are of bricks and slime. According to great ancestors, fishermen found the image of Our Lady of Charity placed in a wooden box floating in Bantaoay river and when the news broke, people from other towns and Provinces came to take the image but could not be moved and only people from Bantay were able to carry the miraculous image. It became the sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity on January 12, 1956, when the most Reverend Msgr. Vagnozzi, the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, crowned the miraculous image as the Patroness of Ilocandia. The picturesque bellfry sits on a hilltop (atop the Calvario Hill) overlooking a vivid green vast of pastureland and the mountain view of the Province of Abra. It was used as a watchtower for invading enemy forces during World Wars I and II. Evidently, the Bantay Church and bell tower are the monumental witnesses to various atrocities, uprisings and staged revolts.”
THE SHRINE OF NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA CARIDAD / BANTAY CHURCH
Bantay, Ilocos Sur
Official Website: http://www.ilocossur.com.ph

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