Casa Gorordo House (Museum), Cebu City

Casa Gorordo Museum
The Casa Gorordo House, also a Museum, shows how a prominent family lives during their generations. From the floor, artistic walls, windows up to the roof top - it's really gorgeous. At the main entrance of this house, its historical background was written and here's what it says: "This house was built in the mid-19th century by Alejandro Reynes y Rosales and was bought by Juan Isidro de Gorordo, a Spanish merchant, in 1863. Four generations of the Gorordo family lived in this house, including Juan Gorordo, first Filipino Bishop of Cebu, 1910-1932.

Introduction: History, Description, and Other Things You Need to Know.


THE HISTORY: It was acquired in 1980 by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.  It was restored and later opened as a public Museum. Casa Gorordo has been declared a National Historical Landmark by Virtue of National Historical Institute Board Resolution No. 4, dated September 24, 1991." - info courtesy of Casa Horordo Museum.

The guest room - this room features a four-post bed with a canopy, an old aparador (closet), an armario (pillow rack) and lavador with porcelain basin. The guest room was rarely unoccupied as, like other Filipino families, the Gorordos regularly hosted friends and relatives. - courtesy of Casa Horordo Museum.


This is a reconstruction of a traditional Cebuano kitchen which was used by the Gorordo household. Typically, the kitchen was located in a separate hut because of the smoke it produced and as the precaution against fire. Objects found in this house include ceramics, wooden utensils, glassware and cooking implements from the 1800s and the early 1900s. Other interesting features are the earth-paved stove or abuhan, the food cabinet or paminggalan and the dish dryer or banggera extending from the window. - courtesy of Casa Horordo Museum

Cebu Tourist Spots

The azotea of Casa Gorordo served many purposes. In daytime, it was used for washing, drying and ironing clothes. The cool breeze in the late afternoons and evenings made it an ideal place for relaxation, meriendas and intimate gatherings for friends and family. The large martavan jars are both functional and decorative. They are constantly filled with water to cool the breeze that enters the windows. The whole terrace is shaded by two flowering vines; the yellow bells and the bridal bouquet, the latter being almost as old as the house. - courtesy of Casa Horordo Museum. These can also be visited nearby: Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House, Heritage of Cebu Monument and Colon Street.