fortifications as a measure against pirates who have sacked the town at least three times. After a raid in 1754, a stone cota or fort was erected with the church and convent inside. To guard the bay, a small fortification was also constructed on top of a hill on the other end of the town. This fortified church survived well in the nineteenth century; the walls of the cota were taken down probably about the same time as those of Bauan and Batangas, in the 1840s. References External links Roman Catholic churches in Batangas Roman Catholic churches completed in 1591 1591 establishments in the Philippines Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Baroque church buildings in the Philippines 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa