Day 6      6/11/2023

Santo Domingo

Frank's Trip

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Iglesia de las Mercedes

Back to Santo Domingo...

Today I returned from Puerta Plata to Santo Domingo on the bus. The trip was a bit interesting as on the last stop before the main station in Santo Domingo, DR Immigration came onto the bus. They took 4 people off. I got the impression they knew who they were looking for; they didn't talk to a number of people - only the ones they took off. Most likely they were Haitians - just my guess based on the proximity of and trouble in Haiti - it is said to be well more dangerous than the war zone of the Ukraine. Happily things in the Dominican Republic are very peaceful and pleasant.

It is amazing how awful many of these churches and buildings look on the outside - and how wonderful they are on the inside. Today, Beauty and the Beast... A beautiful church and a sad ruin of the New World's first hospital.

 

Iglesia de las Mercedes

Iglesia de las Mercedes was founded in 1549 and completed in 1555. The building is designed in Gothic style, and features a famous altar.

One of Santo Domingo’s most historic churches towers was built by the Spanish to establish Catholicism in the New World. Despite multiple disasters, including earthquakes and pirate invasions led by Sir Francis Drake, the building has preserved its original design, including side chapels marked by Gothic vaults, and altars with baroque pieces.

Iglesia de las Mercedes Iglesia de las Mercedes Iglesia de las Mercedes
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Iglesia de las Mercedes Iglesia de las Mercedes Iglesia de las Mercedes

Iglesia de las Mercedes

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  Iglesia de las Mercedes  
Iglesia de las Mercedes Iglesia de las Mercedes Iglesia de las Mercedes
Iglesia de las Mercedes The cloister of the Iglesia de las Mercedes, where the Cuna de América Lodge operated from1859. This may have been the only case of union of the Catholic Church and a Masonic Lodge by sharing the same property of a religious complex. Iglesia de las Mercedes

Videos: Iglesia de las Mercedes

2 short videos of the interior

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Hospital San Nicolás de Bari

Today a preserved ruin, the first hospital built in the Americas, the Hospital San Nicolás de Bari was constructed in different stages between 1503 and 1552.

This grand project was in keeping with the desire to emulate European princely courts, and looked to Renaissance Italy for inspiration. It is likely that the model for the Hospital de San Nicolás was the large Hospital of Sancto Spiritu in Rome. The vanguardist plan of the San Nicolás de Bari hospital served as a model for other hospitals throughout Spanish America, namely the Hospital de la Concepción undertaken in Mexico by Hernando Cortés in 1524.
Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari
Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari
Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari
Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari Hospital San Nicolás de Bari
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     


Hausversicherung, Autoversicherung, Krankenversicherung und CO