Coming from a Lemery bound bus from Manila, we could already see the towering Taal Basilica Church as we enter the town.

Basilica of St. Martin de Tours is identified as the largest Catholic church in Asia it stands 96 meters tall and 45 meters wide on a plateau in the heart of the town called Taal.

It looks like the pictures of  Roman church in Rome. The Basilica of St. Martin de Tours is decreed as a Historical Landmark. Any renovations or changes done should go by the National Historical Institute.

It was built in 1975 by Father Diego Espina what is now known as San Nicolas. In 1974 it was destroyed when the volcano erupted and it was rebuilt again in 1755 at the present site, but was destroyed in 1849 by an earthquake. The construction of the present church was started in 1856 according to the plans of the architect Lucina Oliver and it took a century to achieve the church present form. Its tabernacle is made of silver, the only one of its kind in the Philippines.