Galleria Taal - Batangas

Located in Calle Marcela Agoncillo, Taal in the province of Batangas, Galleria Taal is one of the ancestral homes in the historic town which was converted into a museum.

Galleria Taal

Galleria Taal History

Galleria Taal, also known as the Ylagan-Barrion House, used to be the ancestral house of Don Domingo Ylagan, his wife Maria Martinez-Ylagan, and their six children namely Aniceto, Rosario, Candida, Concepcion, Julia, and Juan.

Galleria Taal aka Ylagan-Barrion House

Welcome to Galleria Taal

 In 1944, the third child, Candida, who by that time was married to Antonio Barrion, paid off her siblings and moved into this home after their home in Batangas City was burned down by the Imperial Japanese soldiers. The couple had three children, Nellie, Corazon, and Charito. 
The cafe on the ground floor of the museum

The Ylagan family photo

 Candida died in 1975 and the house fell in disrepair. Then in 2004, Nellie's sons, Emmanuel "Manny" Inumerable initiated the restoration of the ancestral house together with his brother Roberto. It took several years before the house finally got its old glory back. 
A bust of Dr. Jose Rizal and with the Mi Ultimo Adios

Some personal belongings of Atty Antonio Barrion

Memoirs of Atty Barrion 

Some of the photo collections in the museum

 Manny Inumerable then gave a new life and purpose to the Ylagan-Barrion House. In 2010, he reopened the house as a museum that houses dozens of his collections of vintage and rare cameras including the limited edition 24-K gold-plated Nikon FA Camera. It was said that it was one of the two of its kind in the Philippines. To date, Galleria Taal is the first camera museum not only in the Philippines but also in Southeast Asia.
Exploring the rooms on the second floor

various vintage cameras can be found in the rooms...




Aside from the cameras, Galleria Taal also houses photo collections of rare Philippine photographs from the John Silva collection as well as photographs by John Tewell, George Bonasey, and Sonny Camarillo. 

Here are some of the cameras that I liked:








I got to visit Galleria Taal thrice already. The first was way back in 2011 during the first El Pasubat Festival when I was invited by the owner of the Wedding Gift House, the second was in 2013 during our annual Visita Iglesia, and the latest one was during my school's field trip last February 2019. Well, there were quite a number of changes with the museum-like repainted exterior and the cafe that now sits on the ground floor of the museum which in my opinion was totally cool. 

The Golden Camera - Nikon FA Gold

 As a lover of photography and everything connected to it, I felt at home in Galleria Taal. I have all praises to Sir Manny Inumerable (whose son was my former student). I do hope that the museum expands so that it could exhibit more photographs from other great photographers like Sonny Yabao and the likes. With Galleria Taal, I have high hopes that many others would fall in love with the art of photography as well. 

Galleria Taal Opening Hours:

Galleria Taal is open from 10AM - 6PM daily.

Galleria Taal Entance Fee:
The entrance fee is P100 per person.

Why visit Galleria Taal?

Galleria Taal is a must-visit destination in the Heritage Town of Taal as it's one of the several ancestral houses there. What's amazing about this house is that it was converted into a camera museum - the first camera museum not only in the Philippines but also in Southeast Asia. With that said, there is no reason to miss this place out when you are in Taal.


Getting to Galleria Taal:


From Manila, ride a bus (Jam Liner) going to Lemery, Batangas. Tell the conductor to drop you off at the Lemery-Taal junction. From there, you can ride a trike or jeep which will pass by the museum.

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Location: Taal, Batangas, Philippines

Comments

  1. Anita AligOctober 7, 2019 at 10:07 PM

    Thank you for your wonderful post. Lovely to see how the family has restored this beautiful, stately home!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 10, 2019 at 1:43 PM

      You're welcome please do visit Galleria Taal when you have time. =)

      Delete
  2. katieddsgOctober 7, 2019 at 10:56 PM

    This is so informative and neat! As a lover of photography I would love to see the camera's, especially the gold one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 17, 2019 at 9:45 AM

      You should come visit. I did not include all the photos of the other vintage cameras so that visitors would be shocked to see the extent of the collection themselves. =)

      Delete
  3. Be Back AfterOctober 8, 2019 at 5:27 AM

    What a beautiful building and even better it was saved from ruin! What an imaginative solution for the grand old building

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 18, 2019 at 9:13 AM

      I agree with you. Giving this old house new life seems to benefit the town.

      Delete
  4. Crickette, The Things I Have to SayOctober 8, 2019 at 4:06 PM

    You know, I've never heard of this place, and it looks like it's a nice place to visit. I love old houses and old things. It's so fascinating! Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 18, 2019 at 9:13 AM

      You're welcome Crickette! I do hope you get to visit Galleria Taal soon. =)

      Delete
  5. SHADRACK BIWOTOctober 8, 2019 at 7:53 PM

    This is really an amazing post. I'd really love to visit the museum. Thanks for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JoannaOctober 8, 2019 at 8:40 PM

    As a passionate photographer, I would love to visit this camera museum and learn about how it all started, from the big cameras to what we hold in our hands today. Very interesting place, and what a fascinating location too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 22, 2019 at 9:42 AM

      I agree with you Joanna. A museum of old cameras in a heritage town. You'd love it!

      Delete
  7. Dalene EkirapaOctober 8, 2019 at 9:10 PM

    Galleria Taal is so historic- I love learning about various histories as I move about so this would be a go-to spot for me too. Everything looks so vintagey cute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 22, 2019 at 2:07 PM

      That's right Dalene. Galleria Taal is very historic. Having vintage cameras there makes it more amazing.

      Delete
  8. SerenaOctober 9, 2019 at 3:09 AM

    I love visiting places of history. I love to see the evolution of camera's. Fab! We visited a plantation when in Barbados, it was very educational! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 24, 2019 at 12:12 PM

      Awesome! I have yet to visit Barbados but would surely love to see that plantation.

      Delete
  9. aisasamiOctober 9, 2019 at 10:57 PM

    This a beautiful historical house! I would love to visit as I love historical houses!

    ReplyDelete
  10. PollyOctober 10, 2019 at 12:43 AM

    I feel like a foreigner in my country. I didn't know this place existed! We hiked Taal Volcano last Sunday and I wish we made a side trip! Being a history buff, I'd probably fangirl exploring Galleria Taal. Bro Neil, you always excite me with your posts! I swear!


    ps: I'm contemplating whether to organize another climb so we could visit here after.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 24, 2019 at 12:14 PM

      Thanks Polly. I have always been amazed with your Travel blog as well. In some point I envy your adventures too.

      Please do visit Taal town with your pals someday. =) You'd love it. =)

      Delete
  11. LoritaOctober 10, 2019 at 4:22 AM

    i love visiting attractions and places that tell us about the culture and history. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 10, 2019 at 1:44 PM

      Thank you for visiting as well. Please do visit the town of Taal if you get the opportunity.

      Delete
  12. MayszOctober 10, 2019 at 10:23 AM

    I'm a fan of art and I love going to ancestral and historic houses and take them pictures the old stuffs really amaze me I will visit Batangas soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 24, 2019 at 12:19 PM

      Please do so Maysz. You'd love the heritage town for sure.

      Delete
  13. Jessica AOctober 13, 2019 at 10:19 PM

    very historic. I love those types of museums. Telling an old tale of what was before.

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousMay 29, 2023 at 9:19 AM

    That's quite a collection of cameras in one place. Aside from that, I love how the owner used a heritage house as a museum for his collection. Kudos to Galleria Taal! I would love to visit your museum someday!

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousDecember 4, 2023 at 9:50 AM

    I visited Galeria Taal a few months back and it was a great experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioDecember 11, 2023 at 8:52 PM

      I'm happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience.

      Delete

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