Convento de los Dominicos

Santo Domingo


Built in 1510 by Charles V, this is the first convent of the Dominican order founded in the Americas. It's also where Father Bartolomé de las Casas – the famous chronicler of Spanish atrocities committed against indigenous peoples – did most of his writing. The vault of the chapel, remarkable for its stone zodiac wheel carved with mythological and astrological representations, is worth a look. On the walls are various paintings of religious figures, including Pope St Pius V.