Cebu (Sugbo) is the name given to the city, the metropolis, the island, the province.Cebu Province is made up of 48 municipalities and 6 cities - Cebu, Danao, Lapu-lapu, Mandaue, Talisay and Toledo - with Cebu City as its capital. Cebu Island is a sliver of an island centrally located in the Visayas region of the Philippine archipelago, 365 miles south of Manila. Metropolitan Cebu is a complex of 3 cities and 6 municipalities with a population of over 1 million. Cebu City is the oldest Philippine city, and is also called the "Queen City of the South". As the first Spanish settlement, it was called Ciudad del Santissimo Nombre de Jesus.

        The entire province has a total land area of 508,844 hectares, and its temperature averages 27 ° C all year round. The languages/dialects spoken are Cebuano Tagalog and English.

        In 1521, in his search for the Spice Islands, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan stumbled upon the island of Cebu which he found hospitable and rich in natural resources. He decided to make the island his base for exploration, Christianization and conquest. On April 14, 1521 - for the first time in the Philippines - a Catholic mass was celebrated. The highlight of the occasion was the conversion and baptism of Rajah Humabon (a local chieftain), his wife Queen Juana, their children and some 800 islanders.
        Magellan's days of exploration and conquest were short-lived, however, as he was slain in battle by Lapu-lapu (another local chieftain) in the neighboring island of Mactan.