The first church made of nipa and other light materials was built by the Dominican priest Francisco Nuñez in 1707, and dedicated to Saint Matthias.[1][2] Tumauini became an independent parish from Cabagan in 1751.[1] The current church was built under the auspices of another Dominican, Domingo Forto, in 1783 and later continued by the priest Antonio Herrera in 1788.[3] In constructing the church, Forto hired artisans from as far south as Pampanga.[3] It was completed in 1805.[1]
The church was damaged during the Second World War; a faithful reconstruction program followed, with undamaged parts of the church building retained.[4]
Features
Tumauini is an ultra-baroque church known for its extensive use of red bricks on its exterior and interior ornamentations.[3] Brick was used due to lack of good quality stones in the area.[5]
The church building is made entirely of ornately designed red bricks in its façade and its interior walls.[4] A closer look at the brick façade shows numbers and dates for the correct sequence of the bricks in Forto's design.[3] The façade is flanked by two pseudo-Corinthian columns and niches, one located above the entrance and the two remaining larger niches on each side of the columns.[3] The church's circular pediment is unique relative to all other churches built during the Spanish Era.[3]
Belfry
Attached to the church's façade is a unique cylindrical belfry built in 1805.[4][6] It is the only known Spanish colonial era cylindrical tower in the country.[7] The tiered belfry notably resembles a wedding cake.[8][9]
The bell housed within has bullet holes but was never recast.[10]
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