The Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in the Colonial City of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

is dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation. It is the first and oldest cathedral in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

, begun in 1504 and was completed in 1550. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Santo Domingo who has the honorary title of ''

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

of the Indies'' because this cathedral was the first Catholic diocese and the oldest

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

established in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. The cathedral is fronted with a golden-tinted coral limestone façade. The building is

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

, a notable example of real Gothic architecture outside Europe. There is also a treasury which has an excellent art collection of ancient woodcarvings, furnishings, funerary monuments, silver, and jewelry. It is located between Calle Arzobispo Merino and Isabel la Católica, next to Columbus Park in the city of Santo Domingo de Guzman.

History

Altar Catedral Primada CCSD 11 2017 7109

The Cathedral of Santo Domingo is the oldest in the Americas, built by order of

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or t ...

in 1504. Headquarters of the

Archdiocese of Santo Domingo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Sancti Dominici; es, Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Santo Domingo) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in the Dominican Republic. The see was erected ...

, its construction began in 1512, under the pastoral government of the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Santo Domingo, Friar García Padilla, who never came to the island; based on plans by the architect Alonso de Rodríguez. With the work stopped, they continued with a new design by Luis de Moya and Rodrigo de Liendo in 1522 with the intervention of Bishop Alessandro Geraldini. The architect Alonso González, inspired by the Seville Cathedral, partially completed the church in 1550. Successively Alonso de Fuenmayor, promoted the works and on August 31, 1541, it was consecrated. In 1546

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

elevated it to the rank of Metropolitan Cathedral and Primate of America at the request of King

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

. Another promotion came in 1930 when

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his deat ...

elevated it to "Minor Basilica of the Virgin of the Annunciation". In the second half of the 16th century, the

Cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

sector was built on the south side, with the cells of the canons; another example is found in the

Cathedral of Salamanca The New Cathedral ( es, Catedral Nueva) is, together with the Old Cathedral, one of the two cathedrals of Salamanca, Spain. It was constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries in two styles: late Gothic and Baroque. Building began in 1513 ...

in Spain. In 1547 the work on the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...

was interrupted, because its height, surpassing the Homage tower, had caused disturbances to the sentinels. It was the headquarters of the troops of Sir

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ...

during his invasion of 1586, who sacked it. Apparently in 1665 there was a second consecration. Initially without

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

s, in 1740 it had 9 and currently it has 14. The Chapels of Alonso de Suazo, Rodrígo, Bastídas, Geraldini and Diego Caballero deserve special mention, as well as the crypt of the Archbishops and the lateral Baptismal chapel. Among the works, the painting of Our Lady of la Antigua, donated by the Admiral. The organ was brought to

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

in 1860.

Description

The architecture of the building of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo is characterized by a

style with ribbed vaults, solid walls and three doors, two of them Gothic in contrast to the third and main of Gothic-

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially architectural, developed in Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance ...

style. The cathedral contains a vast artistic treasure made up of

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

s, paintings (including a panel of the Virgin of la Altagracia dated 1523), old cabinetry, furniture, monuments and tombstones, among other objects. The mausoleums of the archbishops of the colonial period stand out, it is also worth mentioning the tombstone of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

, one of the predecessors of the Liberator. The remains of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

were housed in the cathedral for a time, which were transferred in 1795 to the

Cathedral of Havana Havana Cathedral (''Catedral de San Cristóbal'') is one of eleven Catholic cathedrals on the island. It is located in the Plaza de la Catedral on Calle Empedrado, between San Ignacio y Mercaderes, Old Havana. The thirty by forty-nine meters re ...

and finally, between 1898 and 1899, to the

Cathedral of Seville The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See ( es, Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along ...

. The valuable archiepiscopal throne, in the

style, dates from 1540. It was part of the lower choir, dismantled at the end of the last century to place the marble monument in which the remains of Christopher Columbus were kept. The cathedral is built with calcareous stone, although some walls are made of masonry and bricks, and it has twelve side chapels, three free naves and a main nave. The roof of the central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is pitched. Those of the side naves are made up of ribbed vaults that face the outside, as if they were hemispherical domes. The greatest length of the basilica is 54 m from the central nave to the bottom of the presbytery. The width of the three naves is 23 m. The highest height from floor to vault reaches 16 meters, and the built area exceeds 3,000 square meters. Fourteen side chapels were built throughout the cathedral's history. The surroundings of the cathedral are formulated in three independent spaces, to the north the Plaza de Armas, the battlemented atrium is like an antechamber that marks the main entrance to the religious complex. To the south, the cloister called Plazoleta de los Curas. The annexes around the courtyard allow a passage called Callejón de Curas.

Notable people buried

Buenaventura Báez Ramón Buenaventura Báez Méndez (July 14, 1812March 14, 1884), was a Dominican politician and military figure. He was president of the Dominican Republic for five nonconsecutive terms. His rule was characterized by being very corrupt and govern ...

– was the president of the Dominican Republic for five nonconsecutive terms. *

Ramón Báez Ramón Báez Machado (1858–1929) was a physician and politician from the Dominican Republic. He served as provisional president of the Dominican Republic from 28 August until 5 December 1914. He served as the President of Chamber of Dep ...

– was a physician and president of the Dominican Republic. * Fernando Arturo de Meriño – was a Dominican archbishop and served as the president of the Dominican Republic. * Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra – He served as the president of the Dominican Republic.

Gallery

Exterior

File:Cathedral of Santo Domingo late 19th century.jpg, Cathedral of Santo Domingo at the late 19th century. File:Santo Domingo Cathedral (1899).jpg, Cathedral of Santo Domingo in 1899. File:North facade Catedral Primada CCSD 06 2018 098.jpg File:Santo Domingo - Catedral Santa Maria La Menor 01.JPG, File:North gate Catedral Primada CCSD 07 2017 4638.jpg, File:Basílica Menor de Santa María SD RD 02 2017 1941.jpg, File:Basílica Menor de Santa María RD 11 2017 6586.jpg, File:East facade Catedral Primada CCSD 07 2017 4636.jpg, File:Catedral Primada noche CCSD 03 2019 4861.jpg, File:Details main facade Catedral Primada SD 07 2017 4681.jpg File:Panorama fachada norte Catedral Primada noche CCSD 03 2019 4845.jpg File:Fachada Este Catedral Primada CCSD 09 2018 1279.jpg File:Catedral Primada SD 07 2017 4634.jpg File:Aerial view Catedral Primada CCSD 09 2019 0074.jpg,

Interior

File:Nave Norte Catedral Primada CCSD 05 2019 5530.jpg File:Nave Sur Bovedas Nervadas Catedral CCSD 10 2018 4229.jpg File:Interior Catedral Primada CCSD 01 2018 6840.jpg, File:Interior Catedral Primada SD 12 2017 6453.jpg File:Altar Catedral Primada CCSD 11 2017 7109.jpg, File:Catedral Primada de America.jpg, File:Interior Catedral Primada CCSD 01 2018 6837.jpg, File:Altar Catedral Primada CCSD 11 2017 7087.jpg,

References

External links

* Flores Sasso, Virginia de los Ángeles (2012)
Doctoral Thesis about the construction of Santo Domingo's Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor Roman Catholic churches in Santo Domingo 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Dominican Republic History of the Colony of Santo Domingo Spanish Colonial architecture in the Dominican Republic Roman Catholic churches completed in 1540 1540 in New Spain Basilica churches in the Dominican Republic Tourist attractions in Santo Domingo Gothic architecture in the Dominican Republic Ciudad Colonial (Santo Domingo)