DK Travel : Dominican Republic : History & Culture

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Catedral Santa María de la Encarnación, Santo Domingo

The oldest cathedral in the Americas, this imposing building is a treasure trove of Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance styles, with a mahogany altar, elaborate friezes and sculptures, and stained-glass windows. There are 14 separate chapels inside, one of which housed the remains of Columbus.
Christopher Columbus (1451–1506)

Visionary explorer or deluded gold hunter? Opinions remain mixed on the man who started the Spanish colony.
Convento de los Dominicos (1510)

This building became the first university in the Americas in 1538.
Cueva de las Maravillas

This complex of grottoes and labyrinths is a fascinating exhibition not only of Taino art forms but also stalactites, stalagmites, and other geological curiosities. The 472 pictographs and 19 petroglyphs depict human figures and various animals associated with death rituals.
Cueva José Maria

Farther into Parque Nacional del Este and accessible only in the company of a park ranger, this cave holds 1,200 Taino pictographs referring not only to religious beliefs but also to the coming of the Spanish. Black charcoal drawings on white limestone walls clearly show a bearded Spanish face and sailing vessel.
El Pomier Caves

Officially a Reserva Antropológica, this network of bat-infested caves north of San Cristóbal contains the largest display of Taino wall paintings and rock drawings in the Caribbean. You can see mysterious spiritual symbols and scenes of day-to-day pre-Columbian life depicted here.
Enriquillo (1498–1535)

Leader of the last Taino revolt against the Spanish.
Hammock

The Taino hamaca was the favored sleeping arrangement, raising its occupants above rats and other pests.
Hospital San Nicolás de Barí (1503)

The Americas’ first hospital, now in ruins, was built in the shape of a cross.
Hurricane

Huracán was an awe-inspiring god, symbolizing the terrifying power and violence of the natural world.