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Santo Domingo history - learn what once happend
Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher Columbus, founded Santo Domingo, which is today the oldest European city in the New World. In reality the city dates back to 1496, the period when the first Europeans settled there, although officially it was founded on August 5, 1498. Governor general Nicolas de Ovando arrived in 1502 with a fleet of 20 ships and 2,500 men. Santo Domingo was destroyed by a hurricane shortly after his arrival and he had it rebuilt on a different nearby site (Meinig 1986:9). The original layout of the city and a large portion of its defensive wall can still be appreciated today throughout the Colonial Zone, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. The Colonial Zone, bordered by the Rio Ozama, has also an impressive collection of 16th century buildings, including palatial houses and majestic churches that reflect the architectural style of the late medieval period. Catedral Primada de America. The first Cathedral in the New World and the only Cathedral wIth a Gothic Style outside the Old World located in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo. Fortaleza Ozama, one of the historic destinations in Santo Domingo. The city's most important colonial buildings include the Catedral Primada de America, which is the first Catholic Cathedral in America; the Alcazar de Colon, once the residence of Don Diego Colon, the son of Christopher Columbus who became viceroy of the colony; the Monasterio de San Francisco, the ruins of the first monastery in America; the Museo de las Casas Reales, the former Palace of the Governor General and the Palace of Royal Audiences; the Parque Colon, a historic square; the Fortaleza Ozama, the oldest fortress in America; the Panteon Nacional, a former Jesuit now hosting the remains of various renown Dominicans; and the Iglesia del Convento Dominico, the first convent in America. Throughout its first century, Santo Domingo was the launching pad for much of the exploration and conquest of the New World. The expeditions that led to Ponce de Leon's discovery of Puerto Rico, Hernando Cortes' conquest of Mexico and Balboa's sighting of the Pacific Ocean all started from Santo Domingo. The year 1992 marked the 500th anniversary, El Quinto Centenario, of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. The Columbus Lighthouse (Faro de Colon), with an approximate cost of 400 million Dominican pesos, was erected, amidst great controversy, in honor of this occasion. The cobblestone streets and late medieval architecture of the Western Hemisphere's first European city let visitors glimpse the colonial past, as vibrant nightlife, warm beaches and posh resorts take historic Santo Domingo into its future.
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Santo Domingo Vacations site
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