Camiña Balay Nga Bato

Camiña Balay Nga Bato (Stone House), formerly known as Avanceña House, is a century-old heritage house in the Arevalo district,

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on t ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It was built in 1865 and was designed by the first parish priest of Molo, Anselmo Avanceña, for Don Fernando Avanceña and his wife, Eulalia Abaja. It was then passed on from one family to another until it came under the Camiñas family.^{/sup> It is now owned by the fourth generation of the original owners, Gerard Camiña, former director of the Land Transportation Office

The Land Transportation Office ( fil, Tanggapan ng Transportasyong-Lupa; LTO) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Transportation responsible for all land transportation in the Philippines. Functions of the LTO inc ...
in Western Visayas

Western Visayas ( hil, Kabisay-an Nakatundan; tl, Kanlurang Kabisayaan or ''Kanlurang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras ...
, and his wife, Luth Camiña. The ancestral house was declared as an "important cultural property" by the National Museum in 2015.

The heritage house is also now a heritage museum and a restaurant, serving a variety of Ilonggo delicacies and its well-known homemade ''tsokolate tablea'' (chocolate tablets).

History

It was once the home of Fernando Avancena and his wife, Eulalia Abaja, and was built in the 1860s. The structure of the house was patterned after the ''bahay kubo,'' or "cube house." It was made of strong and natural materials—the roof was made of bamboo and nipa; the floors were made of narra and ivory. The foundation was supported by 24 tree trunks. The business of the family was ''hablon'' weaving. A ''hablon'' is a handmade cloth with intricate designs. The family's ''hablon'' business is still active today and is led by current owners, Gerard Camiña and wife, Luth Camiña. In 2010, the owners made the ancestral house open to the public as a heritage museum and as a restaurant.

On December 23, 2015, it was declared as an important cultural property by the National Museum by virtue of Resolution No. 23-2015 and Republic Act 10066 (National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009).

References

{{coord missing, Philippines

Buildings and structures in Iloilo City
Houses completed in 1865
Historic house museums in the Philippines
Heritage Houses in the Philippines
Tourist attractions in Iloilo City}