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in the eight panels: (1) 1504–1508: in the background we can see the house of Juan Ponce de León, which
currently exists. On the left, the figures of the Adelantado and Captain Juan de Esquivel, founder of Higüey,
and on the right, the figures of the chief Cayacoa and his wife, baptized under Catholic rites with the name
of Catalina, who appears kneeling; (2) 1508–1514: Appearance of the image; (3) 1512–1572: Construction of
the Sanctuary in Higüey; (4) January 21, 1691: Battle of La Limonada, the event from which the dedication
of a feast day to Altagracia originates; (5) August 15, 1922: Coronation of the Altagracia image during the
U.S. intervention of 1916-1924, at the Puerta del Conde. Msgr. Alejandro Nouel appears on the right and
the papal representatives on the left; (6) The dates of the construction of the church (1954–1972) and the sig-
nature of the creator of the bronze panels, Tommaso
Gismondi 1988; (7) April 1, 1959: the Pope confers the
title of Minor Basilica; and panel (8) January 25, 1979:
Visit of John Paul II, during which he crowns the im-
age of the Virgin.
A side door, to the left of the paneled ones men-
tioned above, includes an image of the Virgin and two
inscriptions: “Pope John Paul II visited the Dominican
Republic on January 25, 1979 and offered a tiara to the
Virgin of Altagracia. On October 12, 1984, the church
began the celebration of the Quincentennial of the Dis-
covery of the Americas, proclaimed the ‘Marian Year’
from June 7, 1987 to August 15, 1988.” Below the text
is a recreation of the arrival of the Spanish on the island
that includes the legend: “October 12, 1492. The begin-
ning of colonization in the Americas.”
Doors by sculptor
Tommaso Gismondi in
the Cathedral Basilica
of Nuestra Señora de
la Altagracia in Higüey.
© Thiago da Cunha
ITALIAN SCULPTORS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC