The present St. Paul Cathedral was built in 1641. There had been a more modest wood and thatched chapel built on the same site in 1574, but it twice suffered the ravages of earthquakes, first in 1619 and then just a few years later in 1627.

The City of Vigan is the capital of the Province of Ilocos Sur and located on the western coast of the island of Luzon.

Vigan is the only surviving historic city in the Philippines that dates back to the 15th century Spanish colonial period. The town was also an important trading post in pre-colonial times with a community of Chinese traders from Fujian settled in the area.

Today it has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status acknowledging that it is one of the few Hispanic towns left in the Philippines, and is well-known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction, with colonial European architecture.