The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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During the construction process of the National Palace, the dictator officially gave orders for approximate-

ly three years from what is currently the Museo de Las Casas Reales, the former House of the Royal Audience

and the Captaincy General and Chancery. This building would inherit aspirations to power that were com-

mensurate with its solid presence, facing the open space looking onto the river. Its size is abruptly truncated

by the edge of the street, which separated it from the first of two sundials built in 1753 during the time of the

Spanish Conquest of the island.

Covered by the patina of time and various layers of styles that the years had

imposed on its surface both indoors and outdoors, the two-story building with its immense presence and leafy

cornice is a typical “Government Residence.”

The construction of the Palace lasted much longer than antic-

ipated due to international wars that affected the market. Some of the raw materials required for the physical

construction were created by the hands of Dominicans and extracted from Dominican quarries, mines, and

forests (such as marble, sandstone, mahogany, and other woods). However, the cement and the steel had been

ordered from European companies, and war had already spread throughout the entire old continent, thereby

hindering the transport of those materials. It is for this reason that a group of specialized Cuban workers came

to the country and also brought wood and finished furnishings with them that would adorn the rooms and

spaces of the Palace.

While the construction of the National Palace progressed in the Dominican Republic, Frank Lloyd Wright

National Palace

modern façade.