View source for National Pantheon of the Dominican Republic

{{Short description|Jesuit church in the Dominican Republic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = National Pantheon of the Dominican Republic
| native_name = 
| native_language = Spanish
| image = DOMREP-s-dom-panteon-innen.jpg
| caption =Interior of the Pantheon
| locmapin = Dominican Republic
| map_relief = 1
| map_caption = Location in Dominican Republic
| coordinates = {{coord|18.475131|-69.883158|display=inline}}
| gbgridref =
| location = [[Santo Domingo]], [[Dominican Republic]]
| area =
| elevation =
| height =
| beginning_label =
| beginning_date =
| formed =
| founded =
| built = 1714–1746
| built_for =
| restored = 1956
| restored_by = Javier Borroso
| architect = Geronimo Quezada y Garçon
| architecture = [[neoclassical architecture|Neoclassic]]-[[renaissance architecture|renaissance]]
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
}}
'''The National Pantheon''' was built from 1714 to 1746 by the Spaniard Geronimo Quezada y Garçon and was originally a [[Jesuit]] church.<ref name=History>{{cite web|title=The National Pantheon|url=http://dominicanrepublic.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=185|publisher=dominicanrepublic.com|accessdate=31 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322031602/http://dominicanrepublic.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=185|archive-date=22 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Jesuits in DR">{{cite web|title=JESUIT INSTITUTIONS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC|url=http://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/2_Dominican.htm|website=manresa-sj.org |accessdate=6 October 2011}}</ref> The structure was constructed in the [[neoclassical architecture|neoclassic]]-[[renaissance architecture|renaissance]] style. Today, the structure stands as a national symbol of the [[Dominican Republic]] and serves as the final resting place of the Republic's most honored citizens.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
[[File:National Pantheon CCSD RD 02 2017 1972.jpg|thumb|right|Entrance of the pantheon|150px]]

==History==
Jesuits held mass here until 1767. After 1767, it was used as a tobacco warehouse and then as the first Dominican theater for purely artistic purposes by the society [[Jose Gabriel García#Writing|Amantes de las Letras]] in 1860 until 1878 when it became theater La Republicana which operated until 1917.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://desdelavegardubsolis.blogspot.se/2013/09/el-teatro-la-republicana.html|title=Figuras y Relatos de Ayer. Pags 129-130|last=Billini de Espaillat|first=Gisela Mejía|date=1946|website=El Teatro la Republicana|publisher=Editora del Caribe}}</ref> It housed governmental offices until 1956.

In 1956, Spanish architect Javier Borroso renovated the structure to serve its new purpose as a national mausoleum, by order of then dictator [[Rafael Trujillo]]. Originally, Trujillo envisioned being interred at the National Pantheon, yet today it is the place where the country's most famous persons are honored, among others Trujillo's assassins.<ref name=History/>

==Notable people buried==

* [[Francisco Gregorio Billini]] –  was a Dominican writer, pedagogue, and politician of Italian origin.
* [[Concepción Bona]] – A nursery school teacher who took part in designing the Dominican Republic flag
* [[Pedro Francisco Bonó]] – An Italian-French Dominican who was a politician, sociologist and intellectual
* [[Francisco Caamaño]] –  Dominican soldier and politician who took presidency of the Dominican Republic during the Civil War of 1965.
* [[Juan Bautista Cambiaso]] – was an Italian-born explorer, admiral and sailor in the Dominican Navy.
* [[Antonio Duvergé]] –  was a Dominican general of French origin who served in the Dominican War of Independence.
* [[Ulises Francisco Espaillat]] – was a Dominican author and president.
* [[Fabio Fiallo]] – was a Dominican writer, poet, politician, and diplomat
* [[José María Cabral]] – was a Dominican military figure and politician. He served as the first Supreme Chief of the Dominican Republic
* [[Jose Gabriel García]] – was a Dominican military, historian, politician, journalist and publisher.
* [[Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal]] – was a doctor, lawyer, writer, educator and president of the Dominican Republic,
* [[Pedro Henríquez Ureña]] – was a Dominican essayist, philosopher, humanist, philologist and literary critic.
* [[Gregorio Luperón]] – was a Dominican military general and President. 
* [[Eugenio María de Hostos]] – Puerto Rican educator, philosopher, lawyer, novelist, and Puerto Rican independence advocate.
* [[José Núñez de Cáceres]] –  Dominican politician and writer. He is known for being the only president of the Republic of Spanish Haiti
* [[Emilio Prud'Homme]] – French-Dominican who is known for having authored the lyrics of the Dominican national anthem.
* [[Gaspar Polanco]] – was a Dominican military general and politician.
* [[Juan Sánchez Ramírez]] – was a Dominican soldier who served as the Captain general of the modern Dominican Republic.
* [[José Rufino Reyes y Siancas]] – was a Dominican composer
* [[Benigno Filomeno de Rojas]] – He served as the Head of State of the Dominican Republic and President
* [[Pedro Santana]] – was a Dominican military general, President and 1st Marquess of Las Carreras.
* [[Socorro Sánchez del Rosario]] – a Dominican educator and journalist. She was the first feminist journalist of the country.
* [[María Trinidad Sánchez]] – was a Dominican freedom fighter and a heroine of the Dominican War of Independence.
* [[Salomé Ureña]] – was a Dominican poet and an early proponent of women's higher education

==See also==
* [[List of Jesuit sites]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|18|28|30.47|N|69|52|59.37|W|display=title|type:landmark_region:DO|name=National Pantheon of the Dominican Republic}}

[[Category:Monuments and memorials in the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Mausoleums in the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Santo Domingo]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Santo Domingo]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1746]]
[[Category:Tobacco buildings]]
[[Category:Ciudad Colonial (Santo Domingo)]]