History buffs know that a town’s museum provides a link to understanding its past. Along with the conservation of Cebu’s historical sites, the city government is also implementing measures to protect their museums in order to preserve artifacts and educate the coming generations.
Casa Gorordo Museum
(35 Lopez Jaena Street, Cebu City)
The Casa Gorordo Museum is named after the owner of the casa, Msgr. Juan Gorordo, the first bishop of Cebu. Don Ramon Aboitiz turned it into a museum when he acquired it in 1980. The Casa Gorordo is so wonderfully restored that 80-90% of the furniture and fixtures are original. It is a cultural heritage site as the architecture distinctly reflects the late 1800’s era.
The precious rtifacts in the Casa Gorordo Museum will give an idea on the lavish lifestyle of the prominent Gorordo family, taking you back to the late 19th century. What is among the most remarkable is the 80-year old vine called the Bridal Bouquet, which serves as a shade in the azotea.
University of San Carlos Museum
(P. Del Rosario Street, Cebu City)
The USC Museum holds rich information on the pre-Spanish and Spanish colonial era: the traditions, mores, beliefs and even the natural beauty of the flora and fauna during the early periods. The Museum is divided into four sections:
- The Spanish Colonial Gallery holds religious artifacts that the Spanish brought to the Philippines such as images are figures of the Holy Family. A 19th century carved altar of Cebu is also showcased along with baptismal records of Cebuanos dating back to 1843.
- The Ethnographic Gallery showcases artifacts from the primitive times, when the Philippines was still a hunting-and-gathering tribe. One will find hunting tools and weapons from all over the country. It is also interesting to note the costumes, amulets and even writing systems of the early natives.
- The Archeological Gallery is a display of the burial practices of the primitive Filipino tribes before the Spanish came to the country. The burial practices are region-specific, from the burial caves of in Mindanao to the earthenware coffins of the Negrenses to the boat coffins of Bohol.
- The Natural Science Gallery showcases the rich flora and fauna of the country, plenty of which are endemic to the region.
University of Southern Philippines Museum
(Mabini Street, Cebu City)
The USP Museum showcases a wealth of artifacts from the Filipino-Spanish war era. It boasts of a wealth of memorabilia owned by Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine National Hero. Dr. Jose Rizal led a silent revolution against the Spanish imperialists by penning the novels Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Subversive), the 1899 and 1900 copies of which, together with the receipt, are on display.
It also has the original KKK flag, the leading force in the bloody revolution of the Filipinos against their colonizers.
Southwestern University Museum
(Urgello Road, Cebu City)
The Southwestern University Museum is the brainchild of Lydia Aznar-Alfonso, whose goal is to collect artifacts and educate the people by bringing them back to the early times. It has an interesting display of pieces of jewelry that back to 500 AD, excavated from different lands of Cebu. Brilliant finds also are the death masks made from gold that tell you something of the beliefs of the early tribes of the Philippines.
Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino
(Cebu City)
The Basilica Minore del Sto.Nino houses the oldest religious relic in the Philippines, the image of the young Jesus Christ, which was a present by Magellan to Queen Juana and King Humabon. It was built by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in and Fr. Andres de Urdaneta in 1565 and was razed by fire on two occasions. Despite being destroyed in fire, the image of the Sto.Nino was unscathed, which led the people to believe that it had miraculous powers.
