Magellan’s Cross is the symbol of Cebu City, the oldest city in the Philippines. In fact, the chapel that houses the cross (whose roof can be seen at the center of this article’s thumbnail image) is found on the queen city’s official seal. To the south of the chapel is the city hall, while to the north can be found the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño – Santo Niño, or the child Jesus, being the patron saint of the city.

The cross (as can be seen in these Google Image search results) is supposedly the one planted by Magellan on Cebu when he arrived here back in 1521, albeit encased in more wood because of people who chip away at the original one believing pieces of the cross have miraculous properties. There are speculations that the original cross was lost or destroyed already and that the one in the chapel is simply a replica. Either way, the chapel and cross, symbols of the both the birth of Christianity in the archipelago and the colonization of the Philippine Islands, is still the most visited tourist spot in Cebu City. More information about the cross can be found in Wikipedia.

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