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The house survived two revolutions in the late 1800s and early 1900s and the Second World War.
It has largely retained its distinctive balay nga tisa form, making it an iconic piece of Cebuano cultural Identity.
The Gorordo House was built in the 1850s and originally owned by Alejandro Reynes y Rosales. It was bought by Isidro Gorordo, a merchant from the BAsque province of Vizcaya in Spain. Four generations of his family lived in this house including Juan Gorordo, the first Filipino bishop of Cebu. Thus, its present name.
Casa Gorordo is a fine example of a colonial era house known locally as balay nga tisa, or house with tiled roof. Its architecture, which combines native, Spanish, and Chinese influences, is unique to the Philippines. This cultural blending of east and west is referred to as mestizo and is a defining character of Filipino identity.
Is it located on the Parian, a historic district whose origins are traceable to a parish created by Spanish authorities in 1614 for immigrants from the Fujian province of China. The settlement evolved into a bustling commercial hub in the next two centuries. The Gorordos started residence in the house in 1863, three years after Cebu was re-opened to world trade. By this time the Parian had become a neighborhood of wealthy mestizo.