Camiña House

Casa Camiña, also known as Casa Avanceña, is a historic bahay na bato in the Arévalo district of Iloilo City, in the Philippines. It now operates as a house museum and includes a restaurant serving traditional Ilonggo cooking.

History

The house was built in 1865, according to the sources, as the home of Fernando Avanceña and his wife, Eulalia Abaja. Its design is attributed to Anselmo Avanceña, parish priest of Santa Ana de Molo. The family made hablon, a handwoven cloth with intricate patterns.

Over time the property changed hands until it reached the Camiña family, who have run the hablon business for four generations. The house has been open to visitors as a museum since 2010, and it also has a restaurant. In 2015 the National Museum of the Philippines declared it an Important Cultural Property.

Culture

The house is an example of the bahay na bato, the Filipino stone house, with a bamboo and nipa roof, narra and ivory floors, and a foundation supported by 24 tree trunks. Its value lies both in its architecture and in the continuing production of hablon by the family. The restaurant serves Ilonggo dishes, and its homemade tsokolate tablea is a well-known specialty.