The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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pleted by engineer José R. Báez López-Penha. The Edificio Copello building was unveiled,

and plans were drawn up for the authentic Hotel Jaragua, which was inaugurated in 1942

and demolished in 1985.

At Mercado Modelo (45 meters long and 72 meters deep), later known as “Modelo,”

bold sorts of canopies were used, which at the time was a complete technical innovation.

A central nave measuring 21.6 meters in height and 60 meters in width covered by a par-

abolic arch with two joints is the most significant feature of the complex. It also contains

two rectangular structures between two and three stories high flanked at its sides. Yet the

most important project in which D’Alessandro Lombardi would take part had not yet even

been drafted, though it was conceived in 1924. This was the National Palace, the seat of

the Government of the Dominican Republic, and the most important building erected in

the nation up until this time. Between 1939 and 1944, plans were created for the majestic

structure measuring 16,500 square meters. And in Brazil in 1943, the Brazilian architect

Oscar Niemeyer completed the impressive Church of Saint Francis of Assisi located in Belo

Horizonte.

It was clear that the advisers for the construction of the National Palace wanted to

unveil it in 1944, the year in which the plans were finally ready. That year would have pre-

sented the perfect occasion, because the centenary of the foundation of the Republic was

commemorated with incredible splendor. However, the global situation was worsening,

both economically and politically. Europe was experiencing the horrors of war, first with

the Spanish Civil War and then World War One. Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic

and quite far from the warring parties, a building’s infrastructure was being created that adhered to the ide-

ological guidelines outlined by the apparatus of power controlling the destiny of the Dominican people. The

influence was drawn directly from Italian Fascism and German National Socialism, allies to the Spanish Fran-

coism of which the Trujillo regime was a fraternal and stringent adherent.

These formal, mass architectural plans employing a Monumentalist style proposed to dominate the urban

landscape, drawing on the excessive use of classical materials (for example, marble) and to create an imposing

presence. They were thus used politically for propagandistic purposes, while concurrently displaying social

and physical development and economic progress and enabling the Dominican Republic to produce a skyline

of diverse structures that were quite emblematic of its current state.

A considerable number of Spanish immigrants were arriving in the country, capitalizing on state protec-

tion measures that aimed to “elevate the culture” and “improve the nation” with a new type of ethnic miscege-

nation. This time the wave of immigrants included Jews, Lebanese, Spaniards, Italians and other nationalities

that were ethnically perceived as “white.” The immigrants arriving under these auspices were to remain in

the Dominican Republic and contribute through their work and ethnic diversity to the development of the

entire nation. Among them were Spaniards Tomás Auñón, who arrived in 1941 and created the design for the

monument commemorating the payment of the external debt or “Financial Independence” erected in 1942, as

well as Romualdo García Vera, who was born in Albacete in 1897 and created the Hotel Mercedes in the city

of Santiago de los Caballeros.

It was in this context that D’Alessandro Lombardi worked, drafting the plans

for the future National Palace that would eventually be erected on a plateau that was still bare at the beginning

of the twentieth century. It was located in the northwestern section of Santo Domingo, which was devoid of

growth. The wilderness at the beginning of the century came to visually dominate the entire landscape.

At that time, the promontory opened onto a bucolic horizon that was vaguely outlined by scarcely popu-

lated areas with makeshift homes covered in palm fronds and reddish-hued roofs topped for the most part with

gabled and hipped slopes. These were cut among the lush and thick wooded green area, which still remains

there today. By the end of the twentieth century, the outline of that ancestral Santo Domingo still blended

into the majestic clouds visible within the infinite depths of the sky where the eastern trade winds form. This

D’Alessandro (wearing

a jacket) and Gazón

Bona (wearing a white

shirt) on the market’s

flat roof.

family collection. Courtesy

of José Chez Checo

Opposite page:

Details on the National

Palace’s façade.

View of the National

Palace’s dome and

external corridors.