Tradtionally with Philippines Churches, just across the main church is always a large or maybe a small plaza. The plaza is usually where the people congregate one weekends and holidays and hold events. In Intramuros, this is no different and since the Manila Cathedral was the center of the walled city, right in front of the cathedral was a plaza. The plaza for this cathedral was a bit small for a cathedral since I have seen larger and more spacious plazas around the country. I guess being a city, the Manila Cathedral cannot afford the space for a large enough plaza.
This plaza is called Plaza Roma or Plaza de Roma whatever the case may be. The plaza now has a fountain with a statue of Spain’s King Carlos IV who is honored here for sending the first smallpox vaccine to the Philippines. The area around here used to be a bullfighting arena until it was converted into a plaza. The plaza is actually quite elegant especially with that fountain and the statue. It makes the area feel like somewhere in Rome. Incidentally, the name Plaza Roma comes from an agreement with the Vatican which built a counterpart Plaza Manila in Rome.
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