THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is targeting a rise in visitors to the walled city of Intramuros to 954,000 this year, up a whopping 91 percent from the 500,000 visitors in 2016.
The higher number of visitors is expected as the “Intramuros Revival Project” initiated by the DOT last year yielded a newly renovated Paseo Soledad and Plaza Moriones in Fort Santiago.
The renovated areas were formally launched on April 17, with the Intramuros Administration (IA) also announcing an extension of the park’s operation hours to 9 p.m., yet maintaining the same entrance fees at P75 for adults and P50 for students.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo, who led the launch of the newly renovated areas, said the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) has allotted P230 million for the renovation of Fort Santiago, which is part of a larger plan to redevelop Intramuros. Tieza is an attached agency of the DOT tasked to fund and construct infrastructure in tourism destinations, as well as operate and manage tourism enterprise zones.
“This is part of the continuing efforts to preserve and revive the glory days of Intramuros as the nation’s foremost bastion of culture, history and faith,” said the DOT chief. “Having been at the helm of one of the country’s destination management companies [DMC], I know very well the importance of having good attractions, facilities and services”.
“Our Manila DMCs will always have Intramuros as the highlight of city tours and thus, welcome continued physical enhancement and more exciting ways to retell history. The rest is up to them to liven up the conversation,” Teo added.
The newly appointed IA administrator, lawyer Guiller Asido, disclosed that more areas, such as the Rajah Soliman Theater, reception venues and the dungeons, will be opened to the public once the rehabilitation is completed by the end of the year.
“We are looking at the completion of the first phase of the Intramuros Museum and the Maestranza Chambers this year,” he said.
The renovated Plaza Moriones, which is the area leading to the iconic Fort Santiago, has been refreshed with flowering trees and a colorful fountain at the center. Paseo de Soledad, a portion of the linear park built along the banks of Pasig River, is now accessible through the river gate called Postigo Nuestra Señora de Soledad. Meanwhile, Teo also announced the opening of a three-month photo exhibition of masterpieces from Spain’s Museo del Prado in Intramuros.
She said the exhibit of 53 life-size, high-definition photo reproductions of the paintings will transform Intramuros streets into “public art spaces”. The exhibit is a joint project of the IA and Spain’s embassy in Manila and will run from June to August. “It’s a laudable undertaking between the Embassy of Spain and our own Intramuros Administration in that it accentuates the grandeur of our culture’s Spanish heritage,” Teo said in a news statement.
Dubbed El Museo del Prado en Filipinas, the exhibit will include a photo replica of Juan Luna’s “La Muerte de Cleopatra”, Teo revealed. The famous painting won for Luna a silver medal at the National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid in 1881.
“The exhibition becomes more relevant to us Filipinos with the inclusion of the great work of Juan Luna, a fitting tribute to one of the most revered Filipino artist of the 19th century who marks his 160th birth anniversary this year,” Teo said.
A separate exhibit of the Spanish artworks opened on Saturday at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City, coinciding
with the celebration of “Dia del Libro” (World Book Day), organized annually by the Instituto Cervantes, the cultural arm of the Spanish government.
The exhibit in Makati will run for five weeks before moving to Intramuros in June, when the Spanish Embassy donates the photographic replicas to IA, Asido said. “While the historic fortress is in itself a living museum, seeing realistic photos of works of the great masters in its streets will be an added bonus,” he said.
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The Intramuros Administration thrust is the reconstruction of Intramuros edifices 1close to its original glory before it was destroyed by the last world war. The intramuros administration should start planning the reconstruction of the destroyed Catholic Churches of Intramuros. Originally Intramuros have seven churches. Only two church remained due to restoration. San Ignacio Church is currently being restored to house the Intramuros Museum. I Hope 4 more churches can be reconstructed to complete the original seven churches of Intramuros. Visita Iglesia will be more fun in Intramuros if ever it will come true. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c82a9fc9471da61803292d58208b699675a5a6d279b679c3eccd685fc1728d9e.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d33f770cce96a8fd1b08e66abc52d6fff7d11e63c96b1043cb37d0560850844c.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/edf6d3bc418ae46080769ba35a714ea4615d336009f142d1b342db741b350e58.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e724d1229a744994cd8beaa057f1e70ec4fe243d56b63758ed36f4f5494b13d9.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fc1a721bc8dc827562ab91f66d2f62786def8a7a9580bde4276e1ec4af890e01.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7c65c9b22b2dee33560f7d0a5da0f301d8e1e72adbc1e5adda8d116fd14dfbdc.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ebc5751a7773e8fd92d3a9acbb612b40ac50c154783aa5ddf3701a50e7de756d.png