At the top of Calle Las Damas—where María de Toledo (the niece of King Ferdinand of Spain) and her ladies in waiting strolled in fine dresses every afternoon—you’ll find the former Spanish Governor’s Royal Court, made up of the governor’s palace, the treasury, and the courts of law. Built in 1508, the three stone buildings were joined in 1520 and now serve as a cultural history museum, detailing the story of the Dominican Republic from the colonial period through the days of slavery and up to the country’s first independence from Spain in 1821. Highlights include models of Columbus’s three ships and a large map showcasing his four major voyages; portraits of other Spanish explorers and the pirate Francis Drake; treasures from sunken galleons; and ceramic artifacts made by the Taino, the indigenous Indians who occupied the island when Columbus first arrived.
