Museo De La Salle: A Lifestyle Museum in Cavite
One could have never thought that inside the more than 20-hectare lush campus of the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas lies a museum that will somewhat bring you back to the the Spanish colonial era. And it is actually only one of a very few lifestyle museums in Cavite.
Museo De La Salle is a two-storey lifestyle museum in a bahay na bato design which has been dedicated to the preservation of certain aspects and material culture of the 19th century Philippine ilustrado lifestyle. It has been established in 1996 “to encourage its use in cross-disciplinary learning and growth in an academic environment and to provide a living space illustrating Philippine culture.”
The Museum boasts a wide array of collection of antique family heirlooms like furniture, decorative objects, fine and applied arts and 19th-century mementos donated mostly by the scions of the Santos-Joven-Panlilio family of Bacolor Pampanga and Arnedo-Gonzales family of Apalit, Pampanga among others.
Its structure of bahay na bato is one of the most known Philippine architectural heritage left by the Spaniards and of the 19th-century Christian Philippines that is filled with a wealth of fine furniture and objects that reflects the owner’s wealth and personal style.
Inside the Museo De La Salle, visitors will have a glimpse of rich and flamboyant lifestyle of the ilustrados with the display of intricate architectural designs of the arched Puerto mayor or main door, which is opened only for the exit and entrance of carriages and carrozas; a postigo or door for pedestrians is cut in the Puerto mayor; the caida; sala mayor, despacho, cuartos, oratorio, comedor and cocina. Woodworks and handpaintings on ceilings will certainly amaze each and every visitor.
When you visit the Province of Cavite, don’t forget to tour yourself at the Museo De La Salle, a lifestyle museum at the heart of Cavite. And maybe then you will have the feel of living during the Spanish era.
Image by Museo De La Salle
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 5:01 pm, filed under Cavite, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.