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The Casa Manila or “Manila House” is a living museum that features
the lifestyle of an affluent Filipino family during the late Spanish colonial
period. The façade of Casa Manila was patterned after a house that
once stood at Jaboneros Street in the Chinese district of Binondo in
the 1850’s. The interior decor of the house follows the taste of the turn
of the late 19th century where furniture and furnishings were sourced
from Europe and China. Painted walls, crystal chandeliers, carved
traceries, Chinese ceramics and gilded furniture shows the elegance
and luxury of a 19th century Manila house.

IMPORTANT DETAILS
Location: Casa Manila, Plaza San Luis Complex, General Luna cor.
Real Sts., Intramuros, Manila

Monday: Closed

Tuesday to Sunday: OPEN from 9:00AM to 6:00PM.

Entrance Fee: PHP 75.00 (Regular rate); PHP 50.00 (Discounted rate).
Discounted rate is for children (<18), senior citizens (≥60), students,
persons with disabilities, and government employees. Please bring
valid ID.

QUICK LINKS
IA Citizen’s Charter FEATURES
IA Quality Policy Patio and Zaguan
Agency Performance
Review Report Main article: Casa Manila Patio
Agency Score Card
2024 Annual Regulatory
Plan
Career Opportunities
Approved New Rates
Spaces for Lease –
Schedule of Bidding
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The house is accessed through the zaguan, the wide stone-paved

passageway under the house which leads to the patio. The zaguan and
patio are paved with Piedra China or Chinese granite which were once
used as ballast in Chinese trading junks.

The enclosed courtyard or patio is a common feature of Spanish

colonial houses in Intramuros. The patio served to cool the rooms of
the house facing it. At the far end is the caballeriza or stables where
horses and carriages are kept.

Entresuelo

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The entresuelo or mezzanine of the house contains a waiting room for

tradesmen, an office and some bedrooms usually provided for the
extended family, such as a unmarried aunts or uncles, or the
grandparents. Occasionally, the bedrooms at the entresuelo were used
by overnight guests.

One of the rooms of the entresuelo features an elaborately carved bed

known as Kama ni Ah-Tay. This bed named after its carver, Ah-Tay, a
famous Chinese furniture maker in Binondo, often carved calabasa or
squash into the post of the bed like a signature. In another room is an
ornate chest of drawers known as comoda. This chest of drawers is
inlaid with bone, indicating its origin from Pampanga.

A capiya or long bench, inspired by the church pew was made for
tradesmen and visitors waiting for their turn to make a call on the
landlord. To the right leads to the despacho or the master’s business
office. Porcelain pedestals holding potted plants gives a softer touch to
the entresuelo.

Despacho

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The wealth of affluent Filipino families came from various sources

during the Spanish colonial era, such as from trade, but most families
derive their income from provincial estates known as haciendas where
landlords are known as hacienderos. The despacho, which is part of
the entresuelo, is therefore the primary room where the business of the
landlord is conducted. It is furnished with lift-top desks, chairs,
cabinets and bookcases made between the 17th and 19th centuries.
Private libraries were extremely rare during the colonial era, but in here
it is lavishly displayed to show off the literacy and education of the
family. The escritorio, especially made for an office, features a double
flip top so that business partners could work facing each other. The
baul mundo or travelling chest imitates the tooled leather covers of
Spanish sea chests. These 17th century chests were used for long-term
storage or for keeping important documents.

Caida or Ante-Sala

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The second flight of stairs of the house leads to the caida or antesala.
The caida was supposedly given that name as the ladies during that
time “let fall” their skirts they are holding up upon reaching the top of
the stairs. This area was also called antesala and was the primary room
used to entertain everyday guests. Various everyday activities can be
done here, such as afternoon naps, snacks, parlor games, or the
occasional card games and gambling.

The landing of the staircase features a bastonera where guests can

leave their hats and parasols themselves upon entry. The caida
features a magnificent inlaid Sheraton side table from Baliuag,
Pampanga, Viennese bentwood chairs, marble-top tables and a
European gilt framed mirror that showcases the wealth of the family.
The diban, built to serve as lounging chair and day bed. The diban’s
graceful curves, caned seat, back and arm rests speaks leisurely
afternoon naps, a relief from the tropical heat and humid climate of the
Philippines.

Interior Architecture of the House

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The house is surrounded by wide-opening windows. The window

panes are made of capiz shells as glass is very expensive during that
time. The wooden louvers are called persianas which allows air to
circulate inside rooms while blocking the glare of direct sunlight.
Underneath the windows are sliding panels called ventanillas which is
used as additional ventilation especially during dry seasons. The
ventanillas when opened also allowed small children to watch the street
below especially when there are street parades or religious
processions. On top of the windows are fixed transoms or espejo
which to allowed more daylight inside the house, or to illuminate the
interiors when the windows are closed.

The caida features a stamped metal ceiling, popular during the

Victorian era. Other parts of the house may feature a stamped metal
ceiling or painted in the trompe l’ oeil style. The interior walls are also
painted with some are decorated in the trompe l’ oeil style.

Notice the intricately carved traceries as well on top of the doors.

These are called calados and it is not only a decorative feature but also
to facilitate air circulation in between rooms. In some houses, the top
of the walls that separate the rooms also have calados.

The narrow corridor at the sides of the house is called a volada. The
word comes from the Spanish word volar, meaning “to fly”, and this
refers to the cantilevered walkway that runs along the window side of
the house. The volada was used by the servants as passageway to go
from room to room whenever there were guests around.

Sala

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The main hall of the house is the sala. It was where the large and
special activities were held. It is not true that only very important
guests were entertained here, as the use of this hall depended more on
the size and on how special the activities were, in contrast with the
smaller antesala where only everyday activities can be accommodated.
As such, parties, tertulias (private concerts), soirees, and bailes
(dances) were held here. Tertulias usually featured the musical prowess
of members of the household.

Built to impress and to display one’s wealth, the sala is furnished with
utmost luxury. The sala features gilded 19th century furniture from
Europe, Louis XV style settees and chairs, gilded framed mirrors, fine
French furniture, crystal chandeliers, alabaster pedestal lamps to name
a few, that shows the sophistication and opulence of 19th century
Manila house. Being an event space, the large round table and other
furniture at the center of the sala would usually be removed during
parties to give more space for dancing and merry-making.

In between the double doors from the caida, it is important to note the
gilt framed mirror bearing the crest of the Yriarte family. Below it is a
vargueño with inlaid decoration mounted on a trestle stand probably
from the 16th century, came from the collection of Don Felipe Hidalgo.

At the far end of the sala features a square grand piano, sometimes
referred to by old-timers as a box grand piano. The square grand piano
is of choice in both America and Europe and this piece is probably
from the early 19th century. A fine cut glass and crystal candelabra sit
atop the piano, adorned with a beautifully woven manton de Manila.
The furniture in this area is arranged in a way as if a tertulia is about to
be conducted.

A pair of French veneered ebony entre-deux from the 19th century

adorns the entryway of the oratorio while a veneered commode-
desserte with mounts of gilded bronze at the music area are some of
the furniture pieces that came from France.

Oratorio

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To the left of the sala is the oratorio or small chapel that contains the
family altar with its range of exquisitely carved santos in wood and
ivory. The oratorio’s walls and ceiling are painted in the neo-gothic style
which was a popular architectural style in England during the late 19th
century. The altar, done as well in the neo-gothic style, also came from
the collection of Don Felipe Hidalgo of Quiapo, Manila. Like the
kitchen, the oratorio was also the domain of women during the Spanish
colonial regime as the women usually took turns leading the daily
prayers.

Blue Room

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Beside the oratorio is the Blue Room. The walls and ceiling of the blue
room was painted in the neo-classic Pompeian style, inspired by the
discovery of intact architectural interiors from the archaeological sites
of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The furniture exhibited in the blue room is mostly of kamagong or

ebony. Beside the four-poster bed is an inlaid Sheraton side table from
Baliuag, Pampanga. On top of it is a magnificent carved urna that
bears the crest of the Yriarte Family on top of it. Viennese bentwood
furniture completes the interior décor of the blue room. In 1851,
Austrian Michel Thonet exhibited his knockdown steam-bent birch
furniture at the Crystal Palace in London. His chairs were exported to
the Philippines, where they were copied and adapted using hardwood.
A variety of chairs, sofas, and rockers were made in the Philippines.

Cuarto Principal

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The other door of the oratorio leads to the master’s bedroom. It is

typical of old Manila at the turn of the century are the imposing size of
furniture pieces. Large mirrors reflect the status of the family as these
were imported from Europe. Notice the impressive Aparador de Tres
Lunas, picturesquely described as a wardrobe of three moons, relating
to the three mirrors attached to its doors.

Beside the bed is an exquisite comoda or chest of drawers made of

fine grained kamagong and narra that dates back to early 19th century.
On top of it is an elaborate tableau of the Annunciation. Wealthy homes
from the 19th century often has religious images with head and hands
carved from ivory. These religious images are called de-vestir or “to
wear” in which these images are clothed in gold-embroidered robes. To
the left of the room is a sofa known as mariposa. This hardwood and
cane sofa, named after its graceful butterfly-shaped back, is adopted
from the Victorian horsehair sofa.

It is a Filipino hospitality that the master of the house to give up the

master’s bedroom to accommodate important guests who stayed
overnight, longer, if they so desired.

Comedor

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The comedor or dining room features a long dining table that can
comfortable sit eighteen people. The top of the table is made from a
single plank of narra wood. Upon entering the comedor, one may
notice the imposing buffet table fitted with a large mirror. The mirror
adds the illusion of depth and space of the room. On the other side of
the comedor is the vajilera where fine crystal, porcelain plates and
silverware are kept when not in use.

Notice the punkah, a manually-operated ceiling fan. The punkah not

only helped circulate the air to cool the guests, but also shooed the
flies away from the table. The punkah may have been brought from
India during the British Occupation of Manila in 1762.

Cocina

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Off the dining room is a typical 19th century kitchen of a Spanish

colonial house. One noticeable feature of the cocina is the banggera or
dishrack where washed dishes are placed and let to dry under the sun.
The paminggalan or cupboard with slatted sides is used to store
cooked food and left overs. Another status symbol is the nievera or ice
box. The nievera was a source of wonder in those days, and only
affluent families can afford it since ice during the 19th century is
imported from the U.S.

Letrina and Baño

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The passageway to the left of the cocina leads to the baño and letrina.
The letrina houses the toilet and in large houses, it had two or more
seats! The bathroom contains two banera or bathtub. These large
bathtubs were made of stoneware and came all the way from China,
and are probably the oldest pieces of furniture in the entire house (for
verification). Contrary to popular myth, a functioning sewerage system
and running water already existed in Manila by the end of the 19th
Century.

Azotea

From the kitchen one exits to the azotea where messy household
chores are done such as butchering of pigs and chickens for family
meals. Other activities requiring large amounts of water such as doing
the laundry was done in the azotea as the aljibe or water cistern is
located here. Water is gathered from the roofs by means of gutters and
this collected water is filtered by gravel, sand and charcoal. The filtered
water now then stored in the aljibe beneath the azotea.

The plants and spices in the azotea are used for daily cooking and
medicinal herbs for household remedies. A service stair leads down to
the patio.

WATCH OUR VIRTUAL TOUR!

Casa Manila | Virtual Tour

Inside Plaza San Luis, a cultural-commercial complex in Intramuros, is

a remarkable house that takes us back in time to experience a
principalia’s domestic life in the 1800s.

Walk with us on this #IntramurosVirtualTours launched in line with the

Intramuros Administration’s #TravelFromHome campaign and in
partnership with the Department of Tourism – Philippines.

For comments or questions contact us via [email protected]

#WeAreIntramuros

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