Crisologo Street is located in the Historic Center of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Mestizo Section of Vigan is also a National Cultural Treasure. The person the street is named after, Mena Pecson Crisologo is among the most-respected sons of the Ilokos region. He wrote Mining wenno Ayat ti Kararwa, which many compare to Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere; an Ilocano translation of Don Quixote entitled Don Calixtofaro de la Kota Caballero de la Luna; and a zarzuela entitled Codigo Municipal.
The major attraction of Vigan is its mestizo district which is filled with Spanish-style houses that evoke a bygone era when its people lived prosperously because of the Manila-Acapulco maritime trade.
For visitors who want to experience being transported back to this period in Philippine Spanish colonial time, a walk or a calesa ride through Vigan’s Calle Crisologo or Mena Crisologo Street is a must.
The houses are simple but lovely subjects ready for picture-perfect shots with their roofs of red tiles, thick walls, huge doors and stair cases leading to rooms of high ceilings and sliding capiz shell windows. Having survived the many natural and man-made calamities throughout the centuries, the families who own these treasures have endeavored to maintain them.
Visitors can admire more closely the architecture and intricate craftsmanship employed in the grill and wood works when they step inside some of the houses that have been turned into stores and museums. They can even experience staying in a heritage house during their visit as some have been converted into inns.
Though a trip to Calle Crisologo is enjoyable during the day especially because of the opportunity to shop for Vigan’s best products (antiques, abel woven products, bags, basi wine, burnay and dimili products, chicharon, jewelry, sweets, Vigan vinegar and woodcrafts) in the inobtrusive shops located in the ground floor of some of the grand houses, a walk through it is magical at night.
Since it is closed to vehicular traffic at any time of the day, the stillness and shadows that come with the night adds more to the 18th century ambience of the lamp-lit street that local and foreign visitors love. Couples can take advantage of this romantic atmosphere by having dinner in Grandpa's Inn
Food is an integral part of the culture of Ilocanos. Grandpa’s Inn is the perfect place to indulge yourself in gastronomic experience with its three restaurants, The KUSINA FELECITAS which offers authentic Ilocano cuisine, The UNO GRILLE for your charcoal grilled favorites, The CAFE UNO the place to go for your coffee, cakes and pasta.
St. Paul Cathedral
St. Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral was built by the Augustinian clergy around 1790 and like the St. William’s Cathedral, it has features a design intended to minimize earthquake damage that was referred to as “earthquake baroque”. Furthermore, it also features the Neo-Gothic and pseudo Romanesque motifs. There are brass communion handrails copied from China, complete with Chinese characters scribbled by its makers.
In the south of the cathedral lies the eight-sided bell tower used as a safety measure of the church. It was said to be built separately so that in any event of an earthquake, it would not topple into the church. The design said to have a Chinese Feng Shui influences. Lies inside the church is a tombstone of the great Ilocano poet Leona Florentino.
It is also in this church where Vigan’s Beloved late Governor Floro Crisologo was gunned down while he knelt on a pew inside the Cathedral in 1970.
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