Ciudad Colonial (; ) is the historic central neighborhood of 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 ...

's capital

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. The area has been declared a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. It is also known as Zona Colonial (Colonial Zone) or more colloquially as "La Zona" (The Zone). The Ciudad Colonial is located on the west bank of the

Ozama River The Ozama River () is a river in the Dominican Republic. It rises in the Loma Siete Cabezas mountain in the Sierra de Yamasá mountain range, close to the town of Villa Altagracia. History In 1498, Bartolome Colon had a fort built on the Ozama R ...

, which bisects the city. It covers bounded by a walled perimeter. It is an important section of the city due to the high number of landmarks, including Alcázar de Colón, Fortaleza Ozama, Catedral de Santa María la Menor, and others. The area is the main tourist attraction of Santo Domingo, even though the main sites of governmental and commercial activity are now in the more modern parts of the city.

History

The first settlement of what is now Santo Domingo was established by

Bartholomew Columbus Bartholomew Columbus (; ; ; ; – 12 August 1514) was a Genoese explorer and the younger brother of Christopher Columbus. Biography Born in Genoa in the 1461, Bartholomew became a mapmaker in Lisbon, the principal center of cartography of the ...

on the East bank of the

near the end of the 15th century. After the 1502 hurricane that claimed

Francisco de Bobadilla Francisco de Bobadilla (c. 1448 – 11 July 1502) was an official under the Crown of Castile and a knight of the Order of Calatrava. He was also the nephew of Beatriz de Bobadilla, marchioness and of Peñalosa, a patron of Christopher Columbus ...

among its victims, however, the city was relocated on the West bank under the leadership of

Nicolás de Ovando Frey Nicolás de Ovando (c. 1460 – 29 May 1511Some sources place his death in 1518.) was a Spanish soldier from a noble family and a Knight of the Order of Alcántara, a military order of Spain. He was Governor of the Indies in the Columbian ...

. Ovando and his successor

Diego Colón Diego Columbus (; ; ; 1479/1480 – February 23, 1526) was a navigator and explorer under the Kings of Castile and Aragón. He served as the 2nd Admiral of the Indies, 2nd Viceroy of the Indies and 4th Governor of the Indies as a vassal to the K ...

presided over the first constructions of the Colonial City, many of which still exist today. Santo Domingo's fortifications were an important feature of the urban landscape. The

defense wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

(''muralla'') extended from the

to the Puerta del Conde, which was the entrance to the

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...

and the Western boundary of the city until the late 19th century. Nave Norte Catedral Primada CCSD 05 2019 5530

The Spaniards used this settlement as the first point of influence in the Americas, from which they conquered other Caribbean islands and much of the mainland of the Americas. Santo Domingo was initially the political and cultural hub of Spanish presence in the new world, but after a few decades started to decline as the Spaniards focused their attention more on the mainland after conquering

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and other regions of Latin America. Ciudad Colonial nevertheless remained an important historical site. In 1655, the Ciudad Colonial was submitted to a

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

led by the English officers

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

and

Robert Venables Robert Venables (c. 1613 – 10 December 1687) was an English soldier from Cheshire, who fought for Parliament in the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and later served under the Commonwealth of England. When the Anglo-Spanish War bega ...

. The 1655 invasion was thwarted by Spanish troops commanded by the Captain General of the Colony, Don Bernardino de Meneses y Bracamonte, Count of Peñalva, to whom the Puerta del Conde ("Gate of the Count") is named after. The

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

was modified during this episode. Prior to the invasion, there was a fort at the site where the Puerta del Conde is today, Fuerte San Genaro. It is believed that the modification that occurred after the siege involved the expansion of the wall to the fort, effectively creating a

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

, ''El Baluarte del Conde''. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the city started to expand beyond its old boundaries but the Ciudad Colonial remained the main hub of activity until the Trujillo era. Trujillo also presided over the restoration of major monuments, including the Alcázar de Colón in the early 1950s.

Colonial City today

The central public space of the district is

Parque Colon Parque is the Galician, Portuguese and Spanish word for "park", and may refer to: * Parque (TransMilenio), a metro station in Bogotá, Colombia * Parque (Lisbon Metro), in Portugal * Parque (Santurce), a subbarrio in San Juan, Puerto Rico * Battle ...

, a square that borders the 16th-century Cathedral and has a late-19th-century bronze statue of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

in its center. East of Parque Colón, the

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on Cobble (geology), cobble-sized stones, and is used for Road surface, pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Sett (paving), Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as " ...

Calle Las Damas is the New World's oldest paved street, dating from 1502. The street is bordered by many of the zone's more prominent landmarks, including Fortaleza Ozama, the site of major events in Dominican history; Casa de Bastidas, which now houses a children's museum; the French Embassy, in a building said to have been the house of

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

; the Casa de Ovando, said to be the former residence of Governor

and now a luxury hotel calle
Hodelpa Nicolas de Ovando
the

National Pantheon of the Dominican Republic The National Pantheon was built from 1714 to 1746 by the Spaniard Geronimo Quezada y Garçon and was originally a Jesuit church. The structure was constructed in the neoclassical architecture, neoclassic-renaissance architecture, renaissance sty ...

; and the

Museo de las Casas Reales The Museo de las Casas Reales (English: ''Museum of the Royal Houses'') is one of the important cultural monuments built during the colonial era in Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic. It is located in the Ciudad Colonial (Santo Domingo), Colon ...

, in the former governors' palace and Audiencia building. Calle del Conde is a pedestrian-only street that includes several notable commercial buildings of the early 20th century and connects Parque Colon with the Puerta del Conde and Parque Independencia. Another traditional commercial district is the portion of Avenida Duarte just north of the Zona Colonial, which is currently undergoing a renovation plan that aims to make the area more appealing to

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. On the north end of Calle Las Damas, the restored and expanded Plaza de España is bordered by Las Atarazanas (former naval yard, now a museum) and a number of small shops and restaurants. This area was one of the first commercial centers in the Americas, and is still a hub of activity today. The Alcázar de Colón, having once been the colonial palace of the Columbus family—beginning with his son Diego—is now a museum displaying period furniture and decorations. The building was originally built in 1510, and restored to its current appearance in 1952. A 700 million US dollar investment was made in the Port of the Ozama river adjacent to the Ciudad Colonial aiming to turn Santo Domingo into a port of call for luxury cruise ships and including a privately owned marina. The project is being completed by Sans Soucí Ports S.A. It is hoped that this ambitious project will boost the attraction of the Ciudad Colonial and the rest of Santo Domingo to international tourists.

Historical sites of Ciudad Colonial

Dominican Republic Neighborhoods Street View

In the Ciudad Colonial there are different places built by the Spaniards during the colonial era, which together form more than 300 historical sites in the area; these include various monuments of cultural and historical character, as well as houses of great figures of the society of that time, but it can not fail to mention important streets, such as the Las Damas street. Some of these are:

Gallery

File:CCSD Parque Colon RD 02 2017 1903.jpg, File:ElConde.JPG, File:SD RD 03 2017 2124.jpg, Palacio Consistorial File:Calle Las Damas.JPG, File:Casa del Sacramento Colonial Zone.jpg, Casa del Sacramento File:Casa de los Presidentes Colonial Zone.jpg, Casa de los Presidentes File:Kathedrale Santo Domingo.jpg, File:CeilingCatStMariaMenorDR2007.jpg, File:Plaza España CCSD RD 03 2017 2085.jpg, File:Museo de las Casas Reales, Ciudad Colonial Santo Domingo (38225588342).jpg, Museo de las Casas Reales File:Puerta de San Diego.jpg, Puerta de San Diego File:Ruinas San Nicolas de Bari CCSD 09 2018 1414.jpg, Ruinas Hospital San Nicolas de Bari File:Church and Convent Regina Angelorum CCSD 07 2018 0762.jpg, Iglesia Regina Angelorum File:CCSD RD 12 2017 7542.jpg, Ruinas Monasterio de San Francisco File:Foraleza San Gil IMG 0036.jpg, Fort of San Gil File:Exterior wall Bastion San Jose CCSD 08 2019 7967.jpg, Bastion San Jose File:Museo Trampolin Ciudad Colonial SD.jpg, Casa de

Rodrigo de Bastidas Rodrigo de Bastidas (; Triana, Seville, Andalusia, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 28 July 1527) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who mapped the northern coast of South America, discovered Panama, and founded the city of Santa Marta. Personal li ...

File:Iglesia y Convento Dominicos CCSD 07 2018 0534.jpg, Iglesia y Convento de los Dominicos File:Casa del Cordon CCSD RD 11 2017 6568.jpg, Casa del Cordon File:Puerta del Conde CCSD 09 2018 1564.jpg, Puerta del Conde File:2015 07 24 Rep Dom, Saint-Domingue,, amb de France, maison de H Cortes.JPG, Casa de

File:National Pantheon CCSD RD 06 2017 2424.jpg, National Pantheon File:Museo Naval Atarazanas Reales CCSD 08 10 2018 816.jpg, Museo Naval Atarazanas Reales File:Iglesia de Las Mercedes CCSD 09 2018 1509.jpg, Iglesia Las Mercedes

References

Works cited

* Moreta Castillo, Américo
''El Santo Domingo del Siglo XVIII a través del Libro Becerro''
. "CLIO" 74 (Santo Domingo, 2007) pp.  43–66. * González Hernández, Julio Amabl

. "IDG" (Santo Domingo, 2007) * Alemar, Luis "
La Ciudad de Santo Domingo: Santo Domingo, Ciudad Trujillo
'". "Editora de Santo Domingo" (Santo Domingo, 1980)

External links

The Colonial Zone Chronicles -promotes the cultural life of the City

Unesco's World Heritage Site for Colonial City of Santo Domingo

Guide to Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
by Janette Keys {{Spanish Colonial architecture History of Santo Domingo Historic districts History of the Colony of Santo Domingo Populated places established in 1502 Geography of Santo Domingo Neighborhoods in the Dominican Republic Spanish Colonial architecture in the Dominican Republic Tourist attractions in Santo Domingo World Heritage Sites in the Dominican Republic