After a visit to the National Museum of Natural History failed to materialize because our online reservation was bumped a couple of hours into late afternoon, my friend Louise and I decided to just explore Intramuros. This was more than a year into the pandemic, and certain restrictions were still in place when visiting establishments such as museums.
Stumbling Upon Baluarte de San Diego: A Hidden 16th-Century Bastion in Intramuros
Other museums in the area, such as Museo Intramuros and Destileria Limtuaco Museum, had yet to re-open, therefore leaving us with the only option of just roaming the open spaces of Intramuros. Following an interesting image we saw on the satellite rendition of Google Maps, we stumbled upon an interesting part of the walled city called the Baluarte de San Diego.
Counting the number of times I’d been to Intramuros before, I told Louise, “I haven’t seen this spot before despite being here more than a dozen times,” as I looked around with fascination.
“Really?” she asked me with astonishment. “Glad we ended up here then,” she added. After entering San Diego garden, we climbed a short spiral stair leading to a sixteenth-century bastion constructed by the Spanish as part of its fortification of the then walled city of Manila.
Originally constructed between 1591 and 1594 to serve as a projection platform for artillery defense against invaders coming from Manila Bay, the medieval structure was highlighted by its thick three-tier circular walls made of large blocks of stones and a cortina (curtain walls). The San Diego complex, which actually housed another structure: the now ruins of Torre de Nuestra Señora de Guia (Our Lady of Guidance), was designed by Antonio Sedeño, a Jesuit priest and architect.
After a large part of the bastion was excavated from 1979 to 1982, a circular outer structure revealed its whole form. Today, the bastion is surrounded by manicured lawns leading to the San Diego garden and dotted with gazebos and pergolas. The guard told us that sometimes, a wedding reception was even held there.
Taking refuge from the mid-morning sun, Louise and I sat behind a wall to savor the cool wind and to get to know each other more. We started having a conversation digging our career history, our travel destination bucket list, and basically, anything under the hot sun that day. Without us realizing it, an hour passed by like a breeze. “This is a nice place to hang out,” I told Louise. “Yes, I love the view and the fresh air here,” she told me.
Usually, when I found myself around Intramuros, I would normally hang out in a café, but after finding and learning the history of Baluarte de San Diego, I now had a new favorite place to hang out in Intramuros. Maybe I'd bring a book next time.
