Miagao Church, Philippines
Miagao Church or the Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva is a Roman Catholic Church located in the town of Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines. The church was built by Spanish Augustinian missionaries between 1786 and 1797. Miagao Church was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage sites as one of Baroque churches of the Philippines in 1993.Miagao Church was built in European Baroque style with a native style additions and decorations. The church was used for worship as well as to protect the inhabitants against Muslim invaders with its bell towers serving as outlook posts. For that reason it was also reinforced with massive masonry which gives it an appearance of a fortress.
The church damaged in the fighting during the Philippine Revolution (1896-98), by a fire during the Philippine-American War (1899–1902/1913) and by the Japanese occupation during the World War II. It suffered additional damage by an earthquake in 1940 but it was fully restored in the 1960's and 1970's.
