The Cathedral of Santo Domingo, better known as the First Cathedral of America, was declared in 1546 the first cathedral in the New World by Pope Paul III, at the request of Emperor Charles V. This beautiful minor basilica is dedicated to Saint Mary of the Incarnation
Its exterior shows a Gothic style with Renaissance ornaments dated between 1514 and 1546. The facade has three doors, the main one being the north door, Gothic like the rest of the facade, which communicates with the Colón park. The south door or Geraldini's door, also Gothic, is known as the door of Forgiveness because, in the past, when the politically persecuted crossed it they were automatically forgiven. The main door is in the Plateresque style and opens onto a small atrium that during Haitian times functioned as a market. At the top of the facade you can see the coat of arms of Carlos V.
Walking inside you will discover great works of art placed all over the place, such as the painting of the Virgin of Altagracia, dated 1523; as well as tombstones with the funerals of different archbishops and other ornamental elements from the colonial era. In addition, the building protected Columbus's remains for a time before being transferred to the Columbus lighthouse
Despite the fact that the first foundation stone of the cathedral was laid by Don Diego Colón in 1514, the works were continuously delayed due to the desire for wealth of the builders, who left the place to go in search of gold to other new colonies such as Mexico. In 1519, Bishop Alejandro Geraldini, seeing the sorry state of the project, resumed it until it was concluded in 1540.
