THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
264
and architect Esteban Prieto Vicioso. In the work on the cathedral, both have applied knowledge obtained
during their training in Italy, thereby leaving an important imprint.
Ángela Camargo, who studied in Florence during the flood of 1966, was thoroughly involved in the salva-
tion of the city’s cultural property, becoming one of the “
Angeli del fango di Firenze
.”
12
Twenty years later, she
turned her attention and formidable skills to the
Catedral Primada de América
. She restored the cathedral’s main
façade, the Altarpiece of the 12 Columns, the vault of the Chapel of the Most Holy, the Chapel of Fuenmayor,
the Chapel of Bishop Geraldini, and that of Our Lady of La Antigua, among other contributions.
13
The team
of professionals and technicians who worked with Ángela Camargo included the stone specialist Ernesto Tuc-
ciarelli and the stonemason Giovanni Pierini,
14
both Italians.
Since 1984, the Dominican architect Esteban Prieto Vicioso, who studied at Università degli Studi di
Roma La Sapienza and specialized in architectural conservation at the International Center for Conservation
of Rome, has been working on the restoration of the First Cathedral of the Americas. He currently holds the
position of Director of the Office of Works and Museums of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo and Archi-
tect-Curator of the Cathedral.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Central nave of the
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© Courtesy of Esteban
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© Courtesy of Esteban
Prieto Vicioso




