and wider; side walls were made thicker and heavily buttressed for stability during shaking. The upper structures were made with lighter materials. Bell towers are usually lower and stouter compared to towers in less seismically active regions of the world. Towers have thicker girth in the lower levels, progressively narrowing to the topmost level. In some churches of the Philippines, aside from functioning as watchtowers against pirates, some bell towers are detached from the main church building to avoid damage in case of a falling bell tower due to an earthquake. Gallery See also Spanish Baroque architecture – evolved in Spain and its colonies Spanish architecture Spanish Colonial Revival architecture Andean Baroque Churrigueresque New Spanish Baroque Spanish missions in the Americas Mission Revival Style architecture Mediterranean Revival architecture Ancestral houses of the Philippines References Architectural styles Architecture in Spain