The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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quently trained the first generation of Spanish Renaissance sculptors, and from then on, works were created on

the Iberian Peninsula.

At that time, the workshops of the Robbia family from Florence, the Gazini and Aprili workshops of Genoa,

and the workshops of Naples were renowned. An example of the Italian marble tombs in Spain is the tomb of

Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza, which was created between 1493 and 1504 for the Cathedral of Toledo

and which has a Roman-style triumphal arch. Its creator is unknown; also unknown is whether it was imported

from Italy or created by an Italian sculptor

in situ

. Around 1508, the tomb of Juan de Aragón y de Jonqueras, the

Second Count of Ribagorza, was created in Neapolitan workshops and placed in the Santa Maria de Montserrat

Abbey. The Italian tomb of canon Baltasar del Río, the Bishop of Scala (Salerno), was imported to the Cathedral

of Seville in 1521, and the tomb of Fray Francisco Ruiz, Bishop of Ávila, was imported in 1524, to mention a few.

The contracted sculptors who worked in the Spanish kingdoms purchased the marble in Italy, almost always

in Carrara, and brought it to Spain to create the work. Some of the Italian sculptors that worked in Spain include

Domenico Fancelli, Pietro Torrigiano, and Jacobo Florentino (nicknamed Torni or El Indaco by the sculptor

Giorgio Vasari). Some of the first Spanish Renaissance sculptors are Vasco de la Zarza, Felipe Vigarny, Barto-

lomé Ordóñez, Diego de Siloé, Juan de Balmaseda, Juan Rodríguez (disciple of Vasco de la Zarza), Juan de Juni,

Damián Forment, Joly y Juan de Moreto, and Juan de Ávila, among many others.

Over time, religious figures were almost entirely done away with, although religious content was shifted into

the decoration, incorporating elements that alluded to religious events or figures. The treatises of Italian architec-

ture were jealously guarded in the diocesan libraries and in the hands of the masters and artists, especially those

of Sebastiano Serlio, as well as Vignola, Vitruvius, Leon Battista Alberti, and Palladio. In addition, some sculptors

possessed engravings by Italian masters, Albrecht Dürer, and other old masters.

The Funerary Monument of Alessandro Geraldini

Bishop Alessandro Geraldini died in the city of Santo Domingo. The exact date of his death has been a subject of

discussion and dispute. His epitaph indicates that he died onMarch 8, 1524. At the time of his death, the Cathedral

of Santo Domingo was undergoing construction; consequently, “He was initially entombed in the presbytery of

his Cathedral, and his remains were later moved to the chapel of Christ in Agony, which exists at that Cathedral,

depositing it in the urn that is found there on top of two reclining lions.”

The Latin inscription on his tomb reads:

“Hic iacet Rmus Alexander Geraldino Patricius—Rom. Epsii S.D. Obiit - Anno Dni MDXXIIII die VIII Mensis

Marcii.” (“Here lies the Most Reverend Alessandro Geraldini, of Roman nobility, the Second Bishop of Santo

Domingo, who died on the eighth day in the month March in the year of our Lord fifteen hundred twenty-four.”)

The mausoleum of Alessandro Geraldini was built inside the third Gospel side-chapel or the north side of the

cathedral, counting from the main chapel toward the west, beside the northern door. Over time, the chapel came

to be known as the Chapel of the Two Lions or the Chapel of Christ in Agony.

Beginning in the 17th century,

it was called the Chapel of Holy Christ of Viera or Vieira

in association with Lorenzo de Vieira, who offered

economic support to the church at that time.

It is also known as the Chapel of Diego del Río

or the Geraldini

Chapel.

It is likely that its construction was completed between 1542 and 1550, given that it was still not complete

in 1540, as it was said that “it was still necessary to build ten chapels that are called

hornezinas,

or niche chapels,

which are five on each part because two are already completed and another two are being built.”

In addition,

Bishop Rodrigo de Bastidas arrived in 1542, after having been in Venezuela for two years as the interim governor,

and he again commenced the construction at the cathedral with the aim of creating “the segment that is designed

and somewhat connected to the sacristy…and the tower for holding the bells and the clock.”

This work was

done by builders that were already on the island and as well as by others who arrived in 1541. Documents indicate

that the chapel was completed before 1549,

because an account from 1550 mentions that it was completed.