Iloilo is home to many old churches and one these is the church of Dingle, a peaceful town in eastern Iloilo. Like other churches in the province, Dingle Church is of Baroque architecture with its interiors showing features of the Neoclassical style. The parish church of San juan de Bautista is simple yet elegant. It is not lavishly adorned but it is a real beauty. Take a photo of it and you will see.
I have been longing to feature this church in this blog and finally we took a turn to Dingle to visit its wonderful sight like its church.And when we got there, we were not dismayed. It is indeed a nice church and should one of the old churches in Iloilo that a traveler should visit. I felt a little dismayed why it took me so long as a freelance writer to feature and share this church to my dear readers.
Going back to Dingle Church, its main component is limestone and I find it unique. In this part of Iloilo, baked bricks is the most common material as seen in the churches of Santa Barbara, Cabatuan and even of Janiuay. Limestone is more evident in southern Iloilo like that of Miag-ao Church. For this church, limestone was quarried in the mountains of Bulabog-Putian which is now a national park.
Another thing that I noticed with this church is that it only has one belltower. I’m not sure if it is really built like that or it was burned some time in its history. For its facade, it is well decorated given its smaller size compared to other old churches in Iloilo. Its facade aside from statues has a circular stained-glass of saints. In its center is a dome-shaped canopy that I presume to be part of its recent renovations. To be honest, it looks very off-tangent; it is pretty obvious to be a new addition.
So, the next time you are here in Iloilo and have plenty of time to spare for visiting old churches, head to the town of Dingle. Aside from its church, this town is home to the Bulabog-Putian National Park.
Going to Dingle
Going to Dingle is not very accessible especially if you don’t have your own transportation. The town center is not accessible from the national highway going to northern Iloilo or to Capiz and Aklan. You can either take a jeepney to Dingle from Tagbak Terminal or hire a tricycle from the national highway going to Dingle center.
















































