100 Ways of Travel in Santo Dimingo

#100waysoftravel This is the oldest city in the New World, it was founded by a man whom you often remember walking along the Santo Domingo Bartolomeo Columbus, the brother of the discoverer, Christopher, and it happened in 1496. The name Saint Dominic has two meanings, and perhaps has nothing to do with the name or the monastic order, it translates as "Holy Resurrection". The place was chosen not by chance — on the banks of the Osama River. Initially, the city was named New Isabella, but later renamed and in vain, calling cities by female names is better than calling hurricanes by them. By the 16th century, the Santo Domingo had become not just a local capital, but the capital of all the colonies of Spain in the New World, it was here that the residence of the Kings of Spain was located. Later, as the Spaniards captured Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, and Peru, the capital was moved to Havana, due to its more convenient location — it had a better bay. However, this did not prevent the Santo Domingo from continuing its development starting in 1510, it was forbidden to build wooden houses in the city, according to a Royal Decree it was necessary to build only stone ones, which allows us to see a whole layer of history today. Of course, talking about this capital, you involuntarily talk about the most interesting of its districts The Colonial, which is completely protected by UNESCO. As, probably, in any European city, the lion's share of attention is paid to historical quarters and old centers. But, given the capital's status, it is probably right to start with a government building named Presidential Palace, or the National Palace. The author of the building in the neoclassical style was an architect from Italy, Guido Alessandro. The first stone in the construction of the palace was laid on a special day, the Centenary of the Declaration of Independence, in 1844, and three years later the palace was built. The place was also chosen for a reason, there was a presidential villa here, which was built by the American military in the 20s. The evening walk did not disappoint at all, too. Music is playing in every cafe, people are dancing in the streets, life is in full swing.