Original and traditional habitat
The Dominican Republic is home to fascinating archaeological sites, witnesses of the presence of the Taino Indians, the original inhabitants of the island. Most of them are caves on the walls of which you can observe rock art alternating between painting, engraving and sculpture, revealing a perfect mastery of color and light. Sacred images and geometric forms coexist in scenes that aim to edify as much as to educate. The Cueva de las Maravillas, now a museum, is one of the most important sites for understanding this rich pre-Hispanic culture. There, you will learn more about the Taino habitat. The villages, organized around a central square, were composed of huts, the most common of which were the bohios. Circular in shape, these huts were made of palm wood and topped with a thatched roof. Inside, cotton hammocks were hung. Although the Tainos have almost disappeared from the island, their vision of a simple habitat in harmony with nature has endured over the centuries. The rural dwellings of the Dominican Republic are the direct heirs. The structure of these houses is made of palm wood slats, the roof is also made of thatch - even if corrugated iron is replacing more and more natural materials - and the interior is composed of a main room where hammocks are installed. These houses also have a front space protected by an awning and a backyard where the kitchen is located, although in the more modern houses this is often integrated into the main structure. The bright, typically Caribbean colours of these traditional houses provide a striking contrast to the lush green surroundings. Don't miss the colourful houses of the very picturesque villages of Las Terrenas, Los Patos, La Otra Banda or Mano Juan. A change of scenery guaranteed!
Colonial heritage
The Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo is the mother of all colonial cities in the Americas, its model having been adopted throughout the continent. The colonial city is characterized by a checkerboard plan whose paved and straight streets converge on the Plaza Mayor or Parque Central. Surrounded by arcades, this central space gathers all the powers. This coherent plan is reinforced by the homogeneity of the buildings, which do not exceed one or two floors. Made of stone, brick or adobe for the most modest, they can be recognized by their red roof tiles. These colonial houses, which are accessed through massive doors surmounted by arched arcades, are centred around an interior patio surrounded by arcades and often decorated with ceramic tiles or azulejos, while windows, balconies and galleries are adorned with skilfully worked ironwork. At the same time, the colonial architecture must also be defensive. The Independence Park in Santo Domingo preserves vestiges of the wall and the old defensive ditch, but the most astonishing witnesses to this military power are of course the Fortaleza Ozama, the first fortress in the Americas, which impresses with its thick crenellated walls and its Torre del Homenaje, the keep at the heart of the building; and theAlcazar de Colon with its powerful coral limestone silhouette, typical of the Dominican Republic. Outside Santo Domingo, don't miss the Fortaleza San Luis in Santiago and the Fortaleza San Felipe in Puerto Plata, both built on strategic sites and protecting beautiful historical centres. In parallel to this military power, the colonial power also imposed its religious power, with a large number of convents and churches. If the first buildings look like fortresses - like the church of Santa Barbara in Santo Domingo -, they are quickly adorned with the styles in vogue in Spain. The Isabelline style - mixing flamboyant Gothic and the first Renaissance elements in a decorative richness all to the glory of the Catholic Monarchs - and the Plateresque Renaissance - whose name refers to an abundance of finely worked ornamentation reminiscent of the work of the goldsmith(platero) - can be seen in numerous buildings, including the Cathedral of Santa Maria-La-Menor in Santo Domingo. The Moorish influence can be seen in the superb ribbed vaults and the polychrome stone and brickwork of the Nostra Senora de Las Mercedes church in particular, while torso columns and gilded altarpieces illustrate the abundant Baroque in many churches. After the military and religious powers came the civil power, that of the city and the great families. Among its most beautiful witnesses in Santo Domingo, let us note: the Town Hall, with its imposing stone arches; the Casa de la Moneda and its massive plateresque portal; the Casa del Tostado and its geminated window, the only example of this type in the Caribbean; or the Casa del Cordon, the very first private house in the Americas with a beautiful sculpted portal. Finally, don't miss the historical sites of the first sugar farms, which are less well known, but just as revealing of the colonial system. You will be able to observe "trapiche" mills (mills operated by animal power) or hydraulic mills intended to extract the sugar cane juices. These mills were part of vast exploitations including various technical buildings (boiler room, purgery, warehouses), water conveyance infrastructures, but also churches and houses. Among the richest are the site of Boca de Nigua, the Ingenio de Diego Caballero and the Ingenio de Engombe.
From eclecticism to monumentalism
At the turn of the 20th century, the Dominican Republic experienced a new boom, which was reflected in an astonishing eclecticism in architecture. The buildings surrounding the Parque Duarte in Santiago are good examples. Note in particular the Cathedral with its neoclassical lines and the Town Hall with its beautiful arcaded galleries. It was during this period that the Plaza Mayor was equipped with kiosks, statues and urban furniture whose beautiful decorations of wood and wrought iron (friezes, lacework, mantling) can be admired. These elements are also found in the homes built by the wealthy, who prefer the Gingerbread style, or eclecticism with Caribbean colours. Blinds, shutters, galleries surrounding the houses or balconies decorating the facades, colored wooden structures and zinc roofs characterize these residences of which one can see very beautiful examples in Puerto Plata and Montecristi. During the Trujillo era, the architecture became monumental. Santo Domingo was renamed Ciudad Trujillo and the despot erected great obelisks celebrating his power. Trujillo also revisited history through a grandiloquent memorial architecture, like the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration, whose white marble silhouette rises to a height of 67 m. The Italian architect Guido d'Alessandro Lombardi was commissioned to build the Palacio Nacional, a neoclassical behemoth with a 34-metre-high dome. At the same time, Trujillo had many personal residences built, such as the Castillo El Cerro in San Cristobal, a concrete palace whose lines evoke Art Deco and more specifically the Paquebot style. A move towards modernism that took shape with the achievements of Guillermo Gonzalez Sanchez, to whom we owe in particular the Jaragua Hotel in Santo Domingo, a symbol of functionalist rationalism. But the most astonishing representative of modernism in the Dominican Republic is, without question, the Basilica of Our Lady of High Grace in Higüey. Built from 1954 to 1971, it is surprising and unusual with its massive reinforced concrete arches rising to a height of more than 80 m... but it fully meets the specifications which specified that the building had to be hurricane resistant!
Contemporary architecture
In the 1980's, the big international hotel groups launched the fashion of the gigantic all inclusive resorts which grew like mushrooms along the Dominican coast. Punta Cana has the highest concentration of them. Alongside this mass tourism, a tourism of "billionaires" has also developed, whose colossal fortunes have financed real architectural delusions. Casa del Campo, a "ghetto" for the rich and famous, combining hotel complexes and luxury villas, is home to the surreal Altos de Chavon site, a reconstruction of a village where a Roman amphitheatre, a Sicilian church, a craft village, an archaeological museum and art galleries stand side by side. An unlikely atmosphere can be found at the Castillo del Mundo King in Sosua. Designed by the German artist Rolf Schultz, this museum, which is part baroque castle, part medieval ruin and part colourful Caribbean residence, is indescribable! The commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America were also accompanied by some surprising buildings, first and foremost the Columbus Lighthouse in Santo Domingo. With its 230 m length and 70 m height, spread over 5 levels, this concrete colossus follows a cross-shaped plan, the centre of which houses... the chest containing the remains of Christopher Columbus! At the same time, the capital is growing steadily, housing no less than 30% of the country's population. Unfortunately, most of the inhabitants live in shantytowns located in flood zones, zones directly threatened by global warming... just like the beaches which are constantly shrinking. To counter these threats, ecotourism initiatives are emerging, such as in La Ciénaga, where the French embassy has launched the Guana Aventuras project based on green and sustainable tourism. Some resorts are also trying to give more prominence to traditional architecture by increasing the number of bungalows made of natural materials, or by revisiting past styles that are better suited to the climate, such as the Peninsula House guest house. Designed by the architect Serge Robin, it takes up the codes of the big colonial houses with its terraces and galleries, its central patio and its superb wooden decorations. Others, on the contrary, choose innovation, such as the VASHO agency which imagined the RD House in Jarabacoa. To limit the impact on the environment, the architects have literally inserted the house into the cliff, using thermal inertia to limit energy consumption, while planting the outdoor spaces. At the same time, the Dominican Republic has embarked on a vast program to preserve its heritage. A way of protecting its authenticity and proving that it has much more to offer than it seems!
