After Christopher Columbus's arrival on the island in 1492, Santo Domingo became the site of the first cathedral, hospital, customs house and university in the Americas. This colonial town, founded in 1498, was laid out on a grid pattern that became the model for almost all town planners in the New World.
- Country
- Dominican Republic
- Region
- North America
- Category
- Cultural
- Inscribed
- 1990
- UNESCO reference
- 526
- Area
- 106 ha
View the official UNESCO listing
Counts are based on Zikzak's current UNESCO World Heritage dataset, sourced from UNESCO. Last updated 7 August 2026. UNESCO insights