Pila Historical Society Foundation Inc.
Villa and City
A villa may also be declared a city or vice versa in special cases. The premier villa in the old Spanish Empire was “La Real Corte y Muy Heróica Villa de Madrid (The Royal Court and Very Heroic Villa of Madrid), the capital city. Madrid is likewise known as “La Villa del Oso y del Madroño” (Villa of the Bear and the Strawberry tree) referring to the animal and plant which used to abound at the ancient site - the images depicted in its coat of arms.iv
In the Philippines, the cities of Cebú and Vigan were also among the first villas. Together with Manila, Cebú and Iloilo (to which Villa de Arévalo was later incorporated) emerged as the three major urban centers in the Philippines propelled by world trade in the 19th century.
As in the case of Madrid, a villa may be conferred a distinctive appellation. It seemed that the Spanish enthusiasm for titles was imparted early to the Filipinos. Of the eight villas, half were given an honorific: “La Villa Fernandina” (Vigan), “La Villa Rica de Arévalo,” “La Noble Villa de Pila” and “La Muy Noble Villa de Tayabas.”
In the ecclesiastical realm, five Philippine villas, or a former part of them, became the seat of dioceses - two during the Spanish Period and three in the 20th century: Cebú (1595, elevated to archdiocese in 1934), Vigan or Nueva Segovia (1595, transferred from Cagayán to Vigan in 1758, archdiocese in 1951), Lipá (1910, archdiocese in 1972), San Fernando, Pampanga, originally a part of Bacolor (1948, archdiocese in 1975) and Lucena, formerly a barrio of Tayabas (1950). v
In the Philippines, the cities of Cebú and Vigan were also among the first villas. Together with Manila, Cebú and Iloilo (to which Villa de Arévalo was later incorporated) emerged as the three major urban centers in the Philippines propelled by world trade in the 19th century.
As in the case of Madrid, a villa may be conferred a distinctive appellation. It seemed that the Spanish enthusiasm for titles was imparted early to the Filipinos. Of the eight villas, half were given an honorific: “La Villa Fernandina” (Vigan), “La Villa Rica de Arévalo,” “La Noble Villa de Pila” and “La Muy Noble Villa de Tayabas.”
In the ecclesiastical realm, five Philippine villas, or a former part of them, became the seat of dioceses - two during the Spanish Period and three in the 20th century: Cebú (1595, elevated to archdiocese in 1934), Vigan or Nueva Segovia (1595, transferred from Cagayán to Vigan in 1758, archdiocese in 1951), Lipá (1910, archdiocese in 1972), San Fernando, Pampanga, originally a part of Bacolor (1948, archdiocese in 1975) and Lucena, formerly a barrio of Tayabas (1950). v