The Casa Real de Iloilo (Royal House of Iloilo), also known as the Old Iloilo Provincial Capitol, was the residence of the alcalde-mayor, or governor, then the highest Spanish official in

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

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 is located on General Luna Street in

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 ...

. The National Historical Institute (NHI) formally recognized the Old Capitol as a historical landmark through a marker installed on its walls on April 11, 2010.

History

The Casa Real de Iloilo was originally a one-story stone building where the provincial government offices were located after its completion in 1869. Gov. Enrique Fajardo finished construction of the second story in 1873, with first-class wood and a galvanized iron roof. He was also the first governor to establish an official residence in what was at the time the biggest and most elegant provincial capitol in the Philippines. Two publications in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

hailed it as "the magnificent Casa Real" and "the best of its kind, the most commodious and largest in the Philippines." On April 11, 1901, the U.S. Philippine Commission headed by

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

inaugurated the civil government of Iloilo and inducted Gen. Martin T. Delgado as the first provincial governor at the Casa Real. Seven years later, on December 27, 1907, Gov. Benito Lopez was assassinated in the same building. The Casa Real was renovated in 1910 and heavily damaged in World War II. A large annex was built after the war, but it was gutted by fire in 1998. In 1927, the flagstaff or flagpole gave way to the

Arroyo Fountain Arroyo Fountain is a historical landmark in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is located in front of Casa Real de Iloilo, or the Old Iloilo Provincial Capitol, in Iloilo City Proper. It was named after Senator José María Arroyo, who authored the law, ...

in front of the building in honor of Senator Jose Maria Arroyo. The fountain also serves as the kilometre zero of

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City ...

. The building was declared a historical landmark in 2010 by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. It was restored to its pristine grandeur in time for the 2015 Independence Day celebration. This paper tells the colorful 150-year story of the Casa Real de Iloilo, where 18 Spanish and 29 Filipino governors have held office. The new Iloilo Provincial Capitol was constructed behind the building and was completed in 2006. Casa Real de Iloilo now mostly serves as a venue for private parties, government functions, and cultural events. Governors held their inaugural and induction ceremonies at the Old Capitol.

References

External links

* {{Iloilo City Buildings and structures in Iloilo City Tourist attractions in Iloilo City Local government buildings in the Philippines

History

See also

References

External links