Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo
The Colonial City of Santo Domingo was an early colonial settlement in the New World, that strongly influenced the development of other cities in the Americas.
Santo Domingo was founded in 1498, and its monumental buildings include the Western Hemisphere's first cathedral, its first monastery, its first hospital, its first university, and its first court of law. The city is laid out in a grid pattern adapted to the geographical circumstances.
Community Perspective: The Colonial Zone is not very big, and can easily be explored on foot. The star attraction is the well-preserved Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor, and the Parque Colón, a beautiful tree-covered plaza, also comes recommended.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Colonial City of Santo Domingo (ID: 526)
- Country
- Dominican Republic
- Status
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Inscribed 1990
Site history
History of Santo Domingo
- 1990: Deferred
- Better Info required
- 1990: Revision
- Original proposal also included La Isabela and Concepcion de la Vega, now both separately on T List
- 1990: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- ii
- iv
- vi
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- santodomingotourism.com — Santo Domingo
Community Information
- Community Category
- Natural landscape: Glaciation
- Urban landscape: Colonial
Travel Information
Undergoing Restoration or Repair
Recent Connections
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Undergoing Restoration or Repair
Several beautification projects are goi… -
Sundial
Reloj de Sol on Calle Las Damas: built … -
Unfinished constructions
Cathedral: "It’s anyone’s guess what th…
Connections of Santo Domingo
- Individual People
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Mapped or Illustrated by Blaeu
On top frieze of "Americae nova tabula" (1617)See luna.folger.edu
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Christopher Columbus
Ciudad Colonial - the first settlement made by Columbus and the Spanish explorers in the New World -
Sir Francis Drake
"In 1586, the privateer Sir Francis Drake captured the city and held it for ransom" (wiki) -
Hernán Cortés
Registered as a citizen there in 1503
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- Geography
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Located in a Capital City
Santo Domingo (Capital of the Dominican Republic) -
Situated in one of the SIDS
Dominican Rep 1990 -
Caribbean Sea
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- Trivia
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Modelled after
Its university was modelled after the one in Alcala de Henares in Spain (nomination file Alcala de Henares) -
On Banknotes
Puerta del Conde (Colonial Zone); 20 Pesos; 1987 -
Preservation assisted by Getty Trust
Retablo of Church of Santo Domingo (1997-2000) -
Built or owned by Spanish
Dating from 1496, when the Spanish settled there, and officially from 5 August 1498, Santo Domingo is the oldest European city in the Americas. Bartholomew Columbus founded the settlement (wiki)
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- Architecture
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Plateresque
Cathedral of Santa María la Menor: one of the doors and the high altar chiseled out of silverSee en.wikipedia.org
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- Damaged
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Destroyed by Hurricanes or Typhoons
"The city was struck by hurricane San Zenón in 1930, which caused major damage and killed up to 8,000 people." (wiki)See en.wikipedia.org
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- World Heritage Process
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Part of Cultural nomination rejected
Was originally nominated to include the archaeological sites of La Isabela and Concepcion de la Vega. La Isabela is around 200kms from Sto Domingo and is regarded as the first formal European settlement in the new world (1493 by Columbus). La Vega is around 125kms from Sto Domingo and grew from a fort built by Columbus in 1494. Whilst recognising the "evident symbolic value" of properties "so closely linked to 3 significant moments in the history of Hispaniola in the period following the discovery of the island by Christopher Columbus" ICOMOS/UNESCO was (back in 1989) "disconcerted" to "find a single proposal for 3 properties so distant from one another"! As of 2009 both rejected properties are individually listed on Dominican Republic's T List. -
No Buffer Zone
The original nomination had none. Buffer zones have been proposed (see ICOMOS report 2014) but have never been formalized. The official map is without buffer zone (status 2023). -
First inscriptions
Dom. Rep. 1990 -
Only WHS in their country
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- Religion and Belief
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Cathedrals
Sta Maria la Menor
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- Human Activity
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Piracy
Francis Drake 1586
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- Constructions
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Unfinished constructions
Cathedral: "It’s anyone’s guess what the planned bell tower would have looked like: a shortage of funds curtailed construction, and the steeple, which undoubtedly would have offered a commanding view of the city, was never built." (LP) -
Hospitals
Hospital San Nicol?s de Bari (first hospital built of stone in the Americas) -
Sundial
Reloj de Sol on Calle Las Damas: built in 1753. It is one of the oldest sundials in the Americas
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- WHS on Other Lists
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U.S. Ambassadors Fund
Restoration of the Altar of the Holy Relic in the 16th-Century Cathedral of Santo Domingo (2008) -
Memory of the World
Book for the Baptism of Slaves (2009) - comes from a church parish in Santo Domingo and is now in Historical Archives of the Archdiocese of Santo DomingoSee www.unesco.org
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- Timeline
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Built in the 15th century
Founded in 1498
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- Science and Technology
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Universities
Santo Domingo became the site of the first cathedral, hospital, customs house and university in the Americas.
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- Visiting conditions
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Undergoing Restoration or Repair
Several beautification projects are going on at the same time, causing monumental facades to be covered, the Calle Las Damas broken up for street repairs and the Ozama fort to be closed. (Feb 2024)
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News
No news.
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Santo Domingo
- Adrian Turtschi
- Alberto Rodriguez Gutierrez
- Alejandro Lau
- Alexander Barabanov
- Ali Zingstra
- Allison Vies
- A. Mehmet Haksever
- Ana
- Anne
- Artur Anuszewski
- Atila Ege
- Atuzhikova
- Bill Maurmann
- Bram de Bruin
- campmany
- Christoph
- crilly
- ctravel
- Cyberczar
- CynthiaW
- czesioszpachelka
- Delphine Delaunay
- dmscanlan
- DouglasR
- edstar500
- Els Slots
- Emili Xaus
- Erik G
- Eva Kisgyorgy
- Fmaiolo@yahoo.com
- Gary Arndt
- Geoffrey A. P. Groesbeck
- geographybuff
- George Evangelou
- GeorgeIng61
- Gernot
- Gianmarco
- Haining Guan
- Harald T.
- Harry Mitsidis
- H Beswick
- headventure
- Hughes1920
- Iain Jackson
- Inigo Cia
- Jacob Choi
- Janos
- Jay T
- João Aender
- Joaofg
- John
- Jon Opol
- Joshuakirbens
- Joyce van Soest
- Judit Dalla
- julia.meyers22
- Justin Rickey
- Kasper
- Kelly Henry
- KentishTownRocks
- Klaus Bondar
- Klaus Freisinger
- Koen Vliegenthart
- la caperucita roja
- La Concy
- Lado Joel
- Lillybett
- Linz
- Loic Pedras
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Maxine Eisenberg
- merveil
- Michael Ayers
- Michael Novins
- michaelsballard
- Michal Marciniak
- Mikko
- Minkegirl
- MMM
- montgomw
- MoPython
- Morodhi
- NataliaS
- natlefebvre@hotmail.
- Niall Sclater
- Nihal Ege
- Pascal Cauliez
- Patrik_globe
- Philipp Peterer
- Philip T.K.
- Piotr Wasil
- Qin Xie
- reddargon
- Reiseblog
- Roger Ourset
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Rudegirl
- Sascha Grabow
- Sclowitz
- SHIHE HUANG
- sibariam
- Solivagant
- Solivagant Cuban
- Sophie
- Stanimir
- Susan Stair
- Tammy Gouldstone
- TheTravelingRanger
- Thibault Magnien
- Thomas Buechler
- Trine
- Truls Brekke
- Tsunami
- VMThumper
- Weecheng
- Wo_ko
- Yi Han Goh
- Zoë Sheng
Community Reviews
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I hadn’t planned on doing a review for Santo Domingo, but after my visit in February 2024, there are two things I’d like to highlight.
The first is the widespread restoration works. Several beautification projects are going on at the same time, causing monumental facades to be covered, the Calle Las Damas broken up for street repairs and the Ozama fort to be closed. I don’t know when it all will be finished, but given the scale of it I’d say it will last at least til the end of 2024 (they started early 2023). A visit is still worthwhile, but the Cathedral is about the only place you will be allowed to enter. The colonial center ( "a diamond that needs polishing") was already upgraded as a whole in 2017 and looks quite neat and safe already.
Also, I was surprised by the wide range of ratings this site got from our community members: from 0.5 – 5 stars, with Zoë (1 star) and Solivagant (2 stars) aiming particularly low. One of the reviewers described it as “somewhat lacklustre”. So for some (particularly those who have seen a lot of Spanish colonial cities already) Santo Domingo is hard to love. I returned more positive: the site is unparalleled for its public buildings going back to the early days of Spanish colonization of the Americas. Similar sites such as Leon Viejo and Panama Viejo are now fully ruined, while Santo Domingo developed into the major city it …
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One of the best parts about travel is learning history from other perspectives. In US history books, Sir Francis Drake is generally viewed favorably for his role as an explorer and a privateer for the Crown; in the Spanish-speaking world, however, he was seen as a pirate and a scourge, raiding Spanish galleons, sacking towns, and ultimately defeating the Spanish Armada. This viewpoint was abundantly clear in the Museum of the Royal Houses when I visited Santo Domingo last October, and for good reason: in 1586 Drake captured the city and set a ransom to be paid by Spain. As an added incentive, Drake began demolishing and setting fire to parts of Santo Domingo until the ransom was ultimately paid. When Drake departed, one-third of the first seat of Spanish rule in the New World--not to mention the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas--lay in ruins. Nevertheless, the city recuperated, and historic buildings can still be found throughout the Colonial City of Santo Domingo.
The heart of the colonial city would have to be Parque Colón, a beautiful tree-covered plaza that was full of music and activity throughout the weekend of my visit. The square is surrounded by civic buildings such as City Hall; hotels and restuarants housed in historic buildings; and one of the must-see sights in the city, the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, which is the oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere. Audioguide tours provide an excellent overview of the cathedral, which has …
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Santo Domingo's place in history is assured by being the oldest European town in the New World, founded in 1498 by Bartolomeo Colón, brother of Christopher Columbus. It was built according to the classic Spanish town plan (a central Plaza de Armas and streets crossing in right angles) that became a model for almost all cities in Latin America, and is home to the oldest cathedral, castle, monastery, fortress, university (and many other firsts) in the New World. Its position as the capital for all the Spanish domains did not last very long, as Havana was soon found to have a more favorable position, but the city did manage to preserve the remains from its glory days quite well. The star attraction is the well-preserved Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor, known as the Catedral Primada de América, the seat of the first Catholic diocese in the New World. It combines the expected Baroque ornamentation with Gothic features quite unusual on that side of the Atlantic. Next to the cathedral is the Parque Colón, a classic Spanish town square with a statue of Columbus, and just steps away is Calle las Damas, the oldest paved street in the New World. The Colonial Zone is not very big, and can easily be explored on foot; other buildings that I found interesting were the Alcázar de Colón (the former governor's mansion built for Christopher's son Diego, first Viceroy of the Indies, today a really well done museum), the Museo de las Casas …
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The Colonial Area of Santo Domingo is small, pedestrian and worth a couple of hours and then lunch. It's somewhat lacklustre despite its historical significance. Havana is much more impressive.
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Santo Domingo is a beautiful place. I went there on a day trip from Puerto Plata. The cathedral is pretty breaktaking and it's considered to be the first cathedral in the new world. While in Santo Domingo, I also visited El Alcázar de Colòn, which is an old restored house that belonged to Diego Columbus. I did not have time to visit the lighthouse where Christopher Columbus is buried however. Overall, Santo Domingo was well worth spending a day away from the beach.
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