November 21, 2009

The castle and the lion

The abbreviated Spanish coat of arms above the main entrance of Fort Santiago, built in the late 16th century soon after the conquest of the islands. The major elements are the Pillars of Hercules, the Spanish royal crown, the lion rampant of the Kingdom of León and the tower of the Kingdom of Castile. Philip II was the king of Spain at the time, which is why the islands were called Las Islas Filipinas.

the Spanish coat of arms above the main entrance of Fort Santiago

27 comments:

  1. Cezar and LéiaNovember 21, 2009 at 5:47 AM

    It's really beautiful.They also like to represent important families with lions in their coat of arms.
    Beautiful shot!
    Léia

    *** by the way, I'm waiting for Christmas hints , like decoration, and recipes at Happy at home!
    I mean...I'm happy at home here as well! :)
    I miss your posts!

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  2. gibbs cadizNovember 21, 2009 at 6:13 AM

    hilda! wow, beautiful, beautiful pics! and great blog! :)

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  3. AnonymousNovember 21, 2009 at 6:20 AM

    So elegant!

    Even though I knew the Spanish conquered your islands, I had no idea the Philippines were named for Philip II. Duh! It seems so obvious now that I see it on your blog.

    Thanks for the ahha moment. :)

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  4. Leif HagenNovember 21, 2009 at 7:41 AM

    Great detail! Good luck with your work during this busy 150th anniversary!

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  5. tapirgalNovember 21, 2009 at 9:13 AM

    What a beautiful piece of architectural detail. It must be amazing to live someplace with such a long history (one that leaves artifacts).

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  6. PJNovember 21, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    You know, I had no idea that's where the name Philipines comes from. Seems so obvious now that you've told us. Thanks for the geography lesson and the great photo, Hilda.

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  7. LowellNovember 21, 2009 at 9:32 AM

    I like it! And thanks for the history! I never knew how the Philippines got their name.

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  8. peppermintNovember 21, 2009 at 10:47 AM

    What a great achitecture place. Wonder what the rest of Fort Santiago look like.

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  9. GeorgeNovember 21, 2009 at 12:41 PM

    Thanks not only for a great picture but for some interesting history.

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  10. Elaine YimNovember 21, 2009 at 1:24 PM

    This looks like a herritage building.

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  11. CherryNovember 21, 2009 at 2:41 PM

    i am re-learning Phillipine history here, thank you for the infotext and the photo.

    have a great weekend, Hilda! :)

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  12. DinaNovember 21, 2009 at 5:58 PM

    That lion rampant sure has a big tongue!
    Thanks for the history. Duh, I never thought about where the country's name came from.

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  13. BlossomFlowerGirlNovember 21, 2009 at 10:44 PM

    Very good photo the shield is so clear and the detail! Lions seem to be very popular with many countries.
    Melbourne Daily Photo

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  14. pennyNovember 21, 2009 at 11:26 PM

    Your camera takes extraordinary photos, Hilda. It is so perfectly clear, I can see every detail. Well done.

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  15. EbieNovember 22, 2009 at 1:29 AM

    Our country has a great history and works of art, influenced by their conquest.
    Very detailed shot of the coat of arms!

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  16. marleyNovember 22, 2009 at 1:45 AM

    Nice coat of arms. Great details.

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  17. Don and KriseNovember 22, 2009 at 3:12 AM

    What a beautiful coat. Such detail.

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  18. VPNovember 22, 2009 at 3:37 AM

    Great! I really like all the stuff related to coat of arms. I didn't know that the columns represented the Pillars of Hercules.

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  19. UnknownNovember 22, 2009 at 6:15 AM

    Wonderful detail and very interesting information.

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  20. ABNovember 22, 2009 at 6:36 PM

    An interesting of the Philippines colonial past. I wonder why the lions have such snake-like tongues

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  21. CopenhagenNovember 22, 2009 at 9:13 PM

    It seems like most European countries have lions on their coast or arms.

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  22. AnonymousNovember 22, 2009 at 11:27 PM

    I guess there were two. The king and queen. Two castles and two lions rampart. Nice photo.

    The people are out in the photo, but most people cannot see them. The time when they were out was sad and they were killed. Thought you should know.

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  23. JamesNovember 23, 2009 at 2:17 AM

    I like it. I would have thought this was taken in Europe. So old and historical.

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  24. Clueless in BostonNovember 23, 2009 at 4:52 AM

    Beautiful capture. It looks tack sharp.

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  25. AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 5:00 AM

    What a lovely photo. As you've probably noticed on Glasgow DP, our coat of arms is all over the place!

    Jackie

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  26. jamNovember 23, 2009 at 9:03 AM

    Manila is such a beautiful city! Wish to travel there in the near future! And thanks for the wonderful photos on Manila too! Shall we exchange link?

    http://lifeislikethat.net

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  27. escapeNovember 24, 2009 at 11:27 PM

    the beautiful emblem in fort santiago but im not sure if it's still the original.

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