Monasterio de San Francisco

Santo Domingo


The first monastery in the New World belonged to the first order of Franciscan friars who arrived to evangelize the island. Dating from 1508, the monastery originally consisted of three connecting chapels. It was set ablaze by Drake in 1586, rebuilt, devastated by an earthquake in 1673, rebuilt, ruined by another earthquake in 1751 and rebuilt again. Later it served as a mental asylum until a hurricane shut it down; today the dramatic ruins host wild dance nights every Sunday.