![1947 Places of Interest Series - Santa Lucia Gate](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/1947-places-of-Interest-Santa-Muros-Gate.png)
The Santa Lucia Gate, Manila
In 1947 the Bureau of Posts released the “Places of Interest” stamp series followed in 1948 and 1949 with the “officials” (O.B. overprinted).
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This series features the Rizal Monument, Bonifacio Monument, Jones Bridge, Santa Lucia Gate and Mayon Volcano. But I want to focus this blog on the Santa Lucia 16c stamp. Why? Well, because it isn’t actually the Santa Lucia Gate pictured on the stamp – rather the image is that of a similar gate known as the Puerto Real.
The Santa Lucia gate allowed passage from Intramuros to the sea. Intramuros (literally meaning “within the walls”) was a fortified and walled city whose construction started in 1590. The Spanish considered Intramuros to be the city of Manila. It was constructed to provide security from invaders; both human and natural (fierce coastal storms). Construction was ongoing until 1872 with continuous enhancements and additional buildings being added throughout. Intramuros occupies 0.67 square kilometres of land area and is a tourist destination in Manila today.
Construction of the Santa Lucia gate started in 1781 and concluded in 1791. The gate was subsequently destroyed by American tanks in 1945 in the Battle of Manila during WWII. During this battle most of the buildings within Intramuros were destroyed along with about 40% of the original wall. The city was bombed repeatedly as it had become a Japanese stronghold. In 1968 the Intramuros Restoration Committee rebuilt the gate based on the original plans that were housed in Spanish archives.
A Puerto Real is a Royal Gate and was used exclusively by the Governor-General. The original Puerto Real of Intramuros was built in 1663 and was destroyed in a British invasion in 1762. The new Puerto real was built in 1760 and was moved further west along the wall where it still remains today. The image on the 16c Santa Lucia stamp is this very Puerto Real. The Puerto Real was also a casualty of WWII and was subsequently rebuilt in 1969.
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The Puerto Real and the Santa Lucia Gate bear a lot of design similarities. The notable differences are that the Santa Lucia gate had a triangle roof above it, not the arch which is prominent in the stamp. The Santa Lucia also did not have the two watchtowers which are clearly visible on the stamp.
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10 million 16c stamps were printed in total, with 1 million of those overprinted for official use. This stamp was recalled from sale in 1950. Many of the stamps that were produced were destroyed in a flood in 1948 which penetrated the Bureau of Posts’ basement vault. Given the number of stamps destroyed due to both the recall and the flood, this particular stamp is one of the harder ones to find in this series.