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Earthquake Baroque is a style of Baroque architecture found in places like the Philippines and Guatemala, which suffered destructive earthquakes during the 17th century and 18th century, where large public buildings, such as churches, were rebuilt in a Baroque style. Similar events led to the Pombaline architecture in Lisbon following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and Sicilian Baroque in Sicily following the 1693 earthquake.
Characteristics
In the Philippines, destruction of earlier churches from frequent earthquakes have made the church proportion lower and wider; side walls were made thicker and heavily buttressed for stability during shaking. The upper structures were made with lighter materials.
Bell towers are usually lower and stouter compared to towers in less seismically active regions of the world. Towers have thicker girth in the lower levels, progressively narrowing to the topmost level. In some churches of the Philippines, aside from functioning as watchtowers against pirates, bell towers are detached from the main church building to avoid damage in case of a falling bell tower due to an earthquake.