Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica Santa María de la Encarnación Primada de América

is a cathedral dedicated to Santa María de la Encarnación.
The oldest cathedral in America. consecrated by Pope Julius II in 1504. Seat of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, its construction began in 1512, under the direction of Bishop Fray García Padilla. The arrival of Bishop Alejandro Geraldini in 1519 motivated the construction of a temple of greater solemnity, for which it was decided to build the current temple, whose first stone was placed in 1521. In 1523 construction began continuously until its consecration in 1541. On February 12, 1546, at the request of Emperor Charles V, Pope Paul III granted it the status of Metropolitan Cathedral and Primate of the Indies. In 1920, Benedict XV designated it a Minor Basilica.
The cathedral contains a vast artistic treasure consisting of altarpieces, paintings (including a panel of the Virgen de la Altagracia dated 1523), old cabinetry, furniture, monuments and tombstones, among other objects.

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