Day 7      6/12/2023

Santo Domingo

Frank's Trip

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2 More 'Firsts' - 1 in ruins - the other beautiful...

The "mystery" of how Santo Domingo stays so clean was revealed to me this morning... There really is a pretty fair amount of trash and litter that accumulates daily - I really thought everyone else was as careful as me about always putting things in the trash cans. There is a daily squad that cleans everything up. Garbage trucks patrol the streets and pick up bagged trash on the sidewalks. People with leaf blowers "sweep" the parks. People with less sophisticated equipment (e.g. brooms) patrol the sidewalks and other less heavily trafficked areas and get them clean. Pretty much like Singapore used to be (and presumably still is).

The first monastery of the New World, built by the Franciscans, is one of the sites visited today. Sadly, its remains are but ruins. On a more positive note, the first construction for nuns is beautiful inside.

<< LEFT: Just a really nice painting / mural on the front of a building that caught my eye.

>> RIGHT: Mostly things are pretty flat - but there are some challenging hills here, too. This one on the way to one of the ruins I visited.

Iglesia y Convento de Regina Angelorum

The church of the Regina Angelorum (Queen of Angels) convent is known for being the first Dominican construction for nuns in the Dominican Republic , dating from the year 1564.

On the right side, a belfry houses the two bells of the temple and, above the door, a stone altar remains empty after the looting of the year 1586 by the English corsair Francis Drake. Oral tradition tells that on that altar there was a virgin covered in gold and valuable jewels, which is why it is believed that the English corsair was interested in her.

Video: Iglesia y Convento de Regina Angelorum

This video is of the interior of the convent.

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Monasterio de San Francisco

Monasterio de San Francisco is a monastery that was built around 1508 with the arrival of the Franciscan brothers. The ruin is one of most important of the city. It was the first monastery in the New World. The monastery was later hit by a hurricane. Construction began on the main part of the church in 1544 and was completed on July 23, 1556. In 1586 it was sacked by Francis Drake. Repairs were completed in 1664, but according to historians, the building was damaged by earthquakes in 1673 and 1751.

Capilla del Hospital de San Lazaro (Chapel)

At the end of the 16th century, the church and hospital of San Lázaro de Santo Domingo , in the Dominican Republic , were built to care for their illness and their faith for lepers who were on the outskirts of the city, who were had expelled there to avoid contagion to the rest of the population. In the year 1751 the city suffered an earthquake, which only left the “ Chapel of the Lazarus” standing of the entire building, and from whose damage the building was rebuilt in 1759. It is now an empty ruin although still somewhat intact... maybe a refurbishment in its future?

Mercado Modelo

The Mercado is the central and most visible point of Calle La Mella which is a narrow street lined with dozens of stores of all sizes and the occasional large department store, although mainly small family businesses abound. In La Mella are shops with the widest range of products imaginable, from grocery and food stores to electrical appliance stores, including pharmacies, furniture stores, bookstores, toy stores, jewelry stores, haberdashery stores, florists, and even cheap hotels.

The Mercado Modelo is an old shopping center that sells all kinds of souvenirs, handicrafts, and other products. It is organized into sections , each one owned by a different seller. They are organized into rows with often only sufficient room for two people to only squeeze by one another. My guess would be there are over 100 shops there.

Parque Independencia / Puerta del Conde

After walking through the Puerta del Conde / Gate of the Count you will see the Alley of Heroes. The interior Plaza at Parque Independencia was remodeled and opened to the public on February 27, 2017 on Independence Day. The Alley of Heroes has the busts of 34 national heroes lining either side of the plaza.

The wall and gate of the Bastión de San Genaro, now known as Parque Indepencencia, was the Bastión de San Genaro, the original name of this part of the wall, was built in 1543.

The gate 'Puerta del Conde' is named after El Conde de Peñalve / Count of Peñalva, Bernardo de Meneses y Bracamonte. He was the Captain General of the walled city of Santo Domingo. He saved the city, along with his men, from the British invaders during the Siege of Santo Domingo.

On February 27, 1844 Puerta del Conde became the national symbol of Dominican patriotism when Francisco del Rosario Sanchez raised the first Dominican flag. It was here that the heroes of the country overtook the Haitian government and retook the city for their own thus reclaiming their Independence.