Malacanang Palace is the official residence of the president of the Philippines. It is located on Jose Laurel Street in a house built in 1750 in the Spanish colonial style. During American control of the Philippines, another building was built for the government of the country - Kalayan Hall, which was later turned into a museum.
There are several versions of the origin of the name of the palace. According to one, the word Malacanang comes from the Tagalog phrase "mei lakan dian", which means "this is where the nobleman the nobleman lives here." According to another, the word "mamalakaya" refers to the local fishermen, who put their catch on the bank of the Pasig River where the palace now stands. Finally, in Tagalog, the word "malakanan" means "on the right" and the palace stands on the right bank of the Pasig River.
The palace building was built in the 18th century as the summer residence of Spanish aristocrat Don Luis Roja. It was then purchased by Colonel José Miguel Formente, and in in 1825 by the government of the colony. Since then, Malacanang Palace has been the temporary residence the temporary residence of each Governor General. Later, when control of the Philippines passed to the United States, the palace was restored and many other administrative buildings were built nearby. Emilio Acquinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, was the only head of the country who did not live in Malacanang. Several times, the palace was seized by rioters and it was even bombed during such seizures.
The palace gained fame during the reign of President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda, who lived here from 1965 to 1986. The First Lady personally oversaw the reconstruction of the palace according to her extravagant taste. In the 1970s, following a student rebellion, access to the palace was banned. And when President Marcos was ousted in 1986, the palace was stormed by local residents, and Western media exposed the interior of the Marcose home, including Imelda's famous shoe collection of a thousand pairs of shoes, for public viewing.
After the 1983-86 popular uprising, the palace was reopened to the public and and turned into a museum. Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos occupied the nearby Arlequi House. It was not until 2001 that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo returned Malacanang to the title of government residence. However, the current Philippine President Benigno Acuino the Third sits at the Bahay Pangarap Villa, and the Malacanang is once again operating as a museum.
Visitors enter the palace through the Hall, whose floor and walls are lined with with Philippine marble. Opposite the entrance is the Grand Staircase, to the left is the Prayer Room and the Hall of Heroes on the right. On the doors leading to the Front Staircase are depicted characters from Philippine mythology, Malakas (Strong) and Maganda (Beautiful), the first man and woman to emerge from a huge bamboo stalk. On the sides of the doors are sculptures of lions. Along the Parade Staircase itself hang portraits of the Spanish conquistadors Hernán Cortés, Sebastián del Cano, Fernán Magellan and Cristóbal Colón. To the right of the lobby is the Hall of Heroes, which is accessed by a passage with 40 images of famous Filipinos painted in 1940. The most greatest treasure of the Hall of Receptions are three Czechoslovakian candelabras bought in in 1937. During World War II, they were taken apart and safely and safely hidden away. Portraits of all the presidents of the Philippines hang on the walls of the Hall. The largest room of the palace is the Ceremonial Hall, also known as the Ballroom.
