Historic City of Vigan
Location: Ilocos Sur, Luzon Date of Inscription: 1999
Vigan is the most intact example in Asia of a planned Spanish colonial town, established in the 16th century. Its architecture reflects the coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines and from China with those of Europe and Mexico to create a unique culture and townscape without parallels anywhere in East and Southeast Asia. An important trading post before the colonial era, Vigan is located at the river delta of Abra River, along the northwestern coastline of the main island of Luzon. The total area of the inscribed property is 17.25 hectares. The traditional Hispanic checkerboard street plan opens up into two adjacent plazas. The Plaza Salcedo is the longer arm of an L-shaped open space, with the Plaza Burgos as the shorter. The two plazas are dominated by St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace, the City Hall and the Provincial Capitol Building. The urban plan of the town closely conforms with the Renaissance grid plan specified in the Laws of the Indies (Leyas de las Indias) for all new towns in the Spanish Empire.