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THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
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Italy has also left a significant mark on Dominican figurative art, sculpture, music, and cinema. In her
chapter titled “Italy’s Influence on Dominican Art,” Jeannette Miller recalls Dominican painters of Italian
origin and others with close relations to Italy, such as the director of the Hombre Dominicano Museum,
Christian Martínez. Myrna Guerrero discusses the Italian nature of important Dominican sculptural works,
from the doors of the Higüey Basilica to the equestrian monuments of Luperón, in the chapter “Italian
Sculptors in the Dominican Republic.” Blanca Delgado Malagón presents the rich dialogue of the musical
field, describing Italian musicians who have come here and their contributions in the chapter titled “The
Italian Legacy in Dominican Music and Culture,” also enriched by pictures from her collection donated
to the Archivo General de la Nación. The Italian mark made on the cinema sector can be perceived right
from its birth in the Dominican Republic, as Félix Manuel Lora writes in his article titled “The Dominican
Audiovisual Approach to the Italian Film Experience,” in which he brings to light pages unknown to most
on connections in the world of film. His chapter is particularly relevant at this time: the Dominican Repub-
lic is seeking to become a filming destination, while the two countries signed an agreement for cooperation
in this industry in February 2019.
Although Italy is universally known for its artistic and cultural heritage, whose contribution to the Domin-
ican Republic is presented in the previous sections, Italians have also played an important role in the economic
and scientific world, though this dimension is less well known. Relations between the two countries have been
strengthened in the Dominican Republic precisely due to the economic and scientific contributions made by