Kanto No. 4, Vol. 2, 2017 | Page 89

The tours often starts with the opening of the San Sebastian Basilica's tall mint-green metal doors. As Samantha Pacardo and Ysabel de Dios, community development manager and tour programs head respectively of the San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation, launch into their spiel on the basilica's storied past, visitors are lured into the beautifully-preserved interiors, the church’s metallic surfaces bathed in the warmth of honeyed lighting from its glistening chandeliers and through natural light filtering in through the original German stained glass windows of the basilica. There is much to take in visually: the neo-gothic strain of the church grandiosely expressed through lofty spires, rhythmic vaulted ceilings, and tall, slender columns, all surrounded by more than 140 paintings and trompe l’oeil work, a triumph of local art. It is easy to be overcome with the urge to voraciously capture all the splendor and detail with your camera, but pictures tell only half the story. 87