Casa Gorordo

Official Name: Casa Gorordo[1]

Classification Status: National Historical Landmark[1]

Town or City: Cebu City

Description:
Location: Hernan Cortes (now Lopez Jaena) Street, Parian District, Cebu City
Built circa mid-19th century
Architect: Alejandro Reynes (born circa 1820)

The residence was acquired from the Gorordo Family by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) in 1980, and from 1981 to 1982, the house was restored and outfitted as a house museum that showcases the elegant lifestyle at the turn of the century. This lifestyle museum opened in 1983.

The house is typical of Cebu City’s moderately affluent residence of the period. The original house had a rectangular ground plan and occupied roughly a fourth of the 1,410-square-meter lot. There were subsequent additions and modifications. The lower part of the house or zaguan —a dungeon-type ground level floored with cut stone and originally used for storage purposes—is walled in by bituka tinabliya (stone blocks). The wooden upper frame of the house is supported by posts of roughly hewn logs. The house has a sloping roof of locally manufactured red clay tiles. The residence has the familiar features of the Spanish-era balay nga bato (stone house)—a large azotea and garden at the side of the house; a second level divided into such units as a caida (anteroom), sala (parlor), comedor (dining hall), and bedrooms; and a kitchen complex. The bedrooms are all aligned on the western side of the house. The caida, sala, and comedor are one continuous space, demarcated by an arch ornately carved with plants and birds that separates the comedor from caida and sala. An uncommon feature is a small chapel in the house, which is a room in the residence outfitted for the use of Bishop Juan, who would use the chapel whenever he visited home. The chapel displays a pasyon (passion) manuscript in Cebuano. The kitchen at the end of the dining room or comedor is typical of the period. Atypical is the wide balcony or azotea, which runs the whole length of the dining room and kitchen. A trellis supports a bougainvillea plant that is so large it is almost a tree.

This article is from the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art Digital Edition.

Title: Casa Gorordo
Author/s: Resil B. Mojares (1994) / Updated by René B. Javellana, and Regalado Trota Jose (2018)
URL: See Source: 2.
Publication Date: November 18, 2020
Access Date: September 19, 2023

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Source:
1. https://ncca.gov.ph/philippine-registry-cultural-property-precup/
2. https://epa.culturalcenter.gov.ph/2/8/284/