The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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and orchestra direction. I heard Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Wagner—in short, all the compos-

ers whose operas were performed at the time (as they are today).

I would often take excursions around Rome with friends: to Ostia, which served as the main beach for the

city; to Cerveteri, the Etruscan necropolis; to Viterbo, with its conglomeration of typical nineteenth-century

houses, and many other places.

All the same, I never neglected my studies. At the college, I would meet with the professors in the six sub-

jects that were required of me, as part of the revalidation I was undergoing for my career as an architect and

engineer in Santo Domingo. I passed them one by one until only architectural composition remained. This

subject was taught by a professor named Silverio Muratori, who evaluated the work I presented to him by

pointing out aspects that needed improvement. Ultimately, I had to make some huge panels with building’s

plans and elevation which I had designed, drafting everything brick by brick—it was a huge job. But I learned a

lot from him, so much so that when I became a university professor in my own country, I applied his teaching

methods, pointing out to my students all the problems in their respective projects.

All of these and other experiences influenced my literary training, which in turn greatly contributed to

expanding my knowledge and imagination in general.

Opening page:

Detail of the San

Lorenzo Cathedral’s

façade in Genoa.

Valle Giulia, building

that houses the School

of Architecture of the

University La Sapienza,

Rome.