La Romana is a municipality and capital of the southeastern
province of La Romana, opposite
Catalina Island. It is one of the 10 largest cities in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
with a population estimated in 2022 at 153,241 within the city limits (
metropolitan population: 270,000), of whom 149,840 are urban and 3,401 are rural. The name ''Romana'' comes from the word "Bomana", a name given by Indians to what is known today as Romana River.
The modern
La Romana International Airport
La Romana Casa De Campo International Airport is an international airport located on the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, adjacent to the tourist town of La Romana, Dominican Republic, La Romana and the Casa de Campo, Dominican Rep ...
was opened in 2000. The city is near several other cities, such as
San Pedro de Macorís
San Pedro de Macorís is a city and municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic. The capital of its eponymous province in the east region of the country, it is among the ten largest cities of the Dominican Republic. The city has approx ...
and the national capital,
Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The city is a hub for a growing tourist industry with several nearby local resort spots, such as the beachfront
Bayahibe, Dominicus, Casa de Campo, and the growing number of golf resorts that surround the area.
History
The city of La Romana was officially founded in 1897 as an oil town. After 1917 with the construction of a large sugar-mill the economy quickly shifted to sugar production. The commissioning of the sugar mill coincided with the rise in sugar prices worldwide, prompting the
sugar industry
The sugar industry subsumes the production, Sugar refinery, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, about 80% of sugar is extracted from sugar cane, grown predominantly in the tropics, and 20% from sugar beet, ...
to welcome workers from different parts of the country as well as other parts of the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
, many families moved to La Romana for economic opportunities.
In early 1960,
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. purchased the sugar mill and started to invest in the
livestock industry which was cemented in the province. Meanwhile, $20 million were invested to rebuild La Romana and build schools, clinics, housing and other infrastructure for workers. During the mid-1970s the American conglomerate began selling its Dominican assets, and at the same time built what is now one of the largest exclusive
tourist resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
s in the Dominican Republic,
Casa de Campo.
Economy
La Romana has historically been a
company town
A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...
, with the
Central Romana Corporation owning the majority of the town. It is a town with nearly 100% employment, mostly in the tourism industry or with The Central Romana Corporation, the Duty Free Zone
Zona Franca Romana, or one of the service businesses there.
La Romana has been a one-company town since the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company built the mammoth Central Romana mill in 1917. It was the only sugar operation not taken over by
Rafael Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...
during his reign. From 1964 to 1967, the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company, including properties in Florida, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic became part of the conglomerate
Gulf+Western
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. The company originally focused on manufacturing and resource extraction, but it began purchasing a number of entertainment companies beginning in 1966 ...
. In 1984, the Gulf+Western Corporation sold their stake in the Central Romana Corporation to a group of local and foreign investors which includes the
Fanjul brothers.
Gulf+Western acquired Consolidated Cigar in 1968 and shifted the Canary Island cigar-making operation to its Tabacalera de Garcia tobacco plant in La Romana. The Tabacalera de Garcia factory is currently one of the largest cigar factories in the world, and has been owned by the biggest cigar marketing company in the world,
Altadis, since 1999. Three world-famous brands are produced in La Romana:
Montecristo
Montecristo, also Monte Cristo (, ) and formerly Oglasa (), is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea and part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Administratively it belongs to the comune, municipality of Portoferraio in the province of Livorno, Italy. The isl ...
,
H. Upmann, and
Romeo y Julieta.
City of La Romana
File:Casa de Campo Marina, La Romana 22000, Dominican Republic - panoramio (4).jpg
File:La Romana, Dominican Republic - panoramio (38).jpg
File:La Romana, Dominican Republic - panoramio (39).jpg
Tourism
Casa de Campo resort complex was built in 1975 by
Gulf+Western
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. The company originally focused on manufacturing and resource extraction, but it began purchasing a number of entertainment companies beginning in 1966 ...
. In 1984 Casa de Campo was purchased by the Central Romana Corporation, which is co-owned by the
Fanjul brothers.
Altos de Chavón is a reconstruction of a 16th-century Mediterranean village located just minutes from La Romana.
Casa de Campo International Tourist Port (Muelle Turístico Internacional Casa de Campo), located on the West Bank of La Romana River or ''Rio Dulce'', has been utilized primarily for the docking of commercial ships, primarily for the transport of sugar and molasses. Upon exceeding the capacity of its port, the Central Romana Corporation built its new tourism focused port on the east side of the river. The platform on the western bank was renovated and the river channel was dredged to a depth of .
Inaugurated with the arrival of the vessel ''
Costa Marina
MS ''Costa Marina'' was a cruise ship, last owned by Polaris Shipping and operated by Harmony Cruises.
History
The MS ''Costa Marina'' was originally built in 1969 as the container ship ''Axel Johnson'' by the Wärtsilä Crichton-Vulcan, Turk ...
'' in December 2002, the Central Romana Corporation invested US$12 million to extend the existing port by over . The port is a modern platform and harbor terminal, with a capacity for two large modern cruise ships. Today the new facilities boast two docking platforms (East Dock: in length, West Dock: in length), a passenger terminal and parking facilities which accommodate 24 buses.
La Romana International Airport
La Romana Casa De Campo International Airport is an international airport located on the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, adjacent to the tourist town of La Romana, Dominican Republic, La Romana and the Casa de Campo, Dominican Rep ...
(IATA: LRM, ICAO: MDLR) is a private commercial airport in the east of the Dominican Republic, serving the town of La Romana and the resort of Casa de Campo. It was built with open-air terminals. It currently ranks fifth in air traffic, behind Punta Cana, Las Américas, Puerto Plata and Santiago. The airport has 7 positions in the international terminal and a spacious private aviation terminal where up to 12 private jets can be parked.
Safety
The
United States State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
in 2024 issued a Level 2 Advisory as a travel advisory to visitors to the Dominican Republic, for tourists to "exercise increased caution." This was a renewal of the DOS statement issued in 2023, noting that DR "is generally safe to those sticking to popular resort areas like Punta Cana and La Romana but remains a risk due to instances of 'violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault' in the country overall." The biggest risk in La Romana was
theft
Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...
, as of 2022, through 2024, more generally of
property crime
Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property, that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime is a crime to obtain money, property, ...
. "Avoid visiting dark, secluded places alone, and avoid beaches at night. Be sure to choose taxis carefully," advised the ''
Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...
'' in 2023 to tourists who are traveling to La Romana and other popular cruise destinations.
Climate
La Romana has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Aw'') only slightly above a
hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(''BSh'') due to its shielded location from the northeasterly
trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...
.
Sports
Estadio Francisco Micheli is home to the
Toros del Este
Toros del Este (formerly Azucareros del Este) are a baseball team in the Dominican Winter League established in . Based in the eastern city of La Romana, the Toros have won three championship series in their history, winning the title in , , .
...
, a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
team in the
Dominican Winter League
The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played ...
.
In 1983, the government of
Salvador Jorge Blanco, through the fund for development of this region, built the ''Polideportivo de La Romana'' (La Romana Sports Center), which was named after
Eleoncio Mercedes in honor of the flyweight boxer who became world champion. The Cañeros de La Romana, a Dominican
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team, play their home games here.
Population

* 2022 : 131,828
* 2010 : 139,671
* 2022 : 153,241
Notable people
*
Fernando Abad, Major League Baseball pitcher for the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
*
Antonio Alfonseca, pitched for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
*
Juana Arrendel
Juana Rosario Arrendel (born 16 June 1978) is a female high jumper from the Dominican Republic.
Arrendel originally won the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, but lost the gold medal after testing positive for stanozolol. In 2006, she became t ...
, high jumper
*
Edison Azcona, footballer
*
Miguel Castro, baseball pitcher for the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
*
Andújar Cedeño, former MLB shortstop
*
Domingo Cedeño
Domingo Antonio Cedeño Donastorg (born November 4, 1968) is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in parts of seven seasons from to for the Toronto Blu ...
, former MLB infielder
*
Rafael Dolis, relief pitcher for the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
.
*
Edwin Encarnación, first baseman for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
.
*
Pedro Florimón, shortstop for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
*
Freddy García, former MLB infielder
*
Tito Horford
Alfredo William "Tito" Horford (born January 19, 1966) is a Dominican retired professional basketball player who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (39th overall) of the 1988 NBA draft. Horford played three years in the N ...
, retired professional basketball player
*
Luis Ernesto José, lightweight boxer
*
Eleoncio Mercedes, former world champion boxer in the Flyweight division
*
Yermín Mercedes, catcher/designated hitter for the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
* Ramon Rijo A.K.A. "MONCHY," singer, musician, songwriter, and musical producer for
Monchy y Alexandra
Monchy & Alexandra were a bachata musical group from the Dominican Republic. They sang together as a duo beginning in 1998. Their first big hit was " Hoja En Blanco", which they released in 1999. Since then, they had many other hits, such as " Ha ...
*
John Nolasco, featherweight boxer
*
Arismendy Peguero, sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres
*
Félix Pie, center fielder for the
Hanwha Eagles
The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...
*
Danny Richar, second baseman for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
*
Luis Santana, retired professional boxer
*
Rafael Santana, former MLB shortstop
*
Julian Yan, retired professional baseball player
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in La Romana Province
Municipalities of the Dominican Republic