Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia

What makes it special

Start outside with the facade. The slender concrete arches are shaped to suggest Our Lady of Altagracia with her hands joined in prayer, and they are the detail the building is best known for.

The main door is bronze with a 24-carat gold finish, and the bell tower holds 45 bronze bells. Inside, stained-glass panels along the walls throw bands of blue and red light across the floor and the pews.

The painting the church was built for hangs above the altar, an image of the Virgin in a plain frame. In 1992 Pope John Paul the Second crowned it with a silver-gilt diadem.

The basilica took over from the old San Dionisio shrine, where the painting hung before. It is now the cathedral of the Higüey diocese and one of the most visited shrines in the Caribbean.

Visiting

From the car park, walk round to the front first and look at the arches before you go in. Then enter through the bronze door into the nave.

Make your way up toward the altar for a close look at the painting. Masses run through the day on Sundays, and the times are posted on basilicaaltagracia.do. If one is under way, stay at the back and keep quiet until it ends.

Finish in the Museo de la Altagracia. Its six permanent rooms of sacred art and history follow the devotion from 1506, when the painted canvas reached the island from Extremadura in Spain.

Guided or on your own

Seeing the church on your own works, because the arches, the door and the painting are all in plain view. For the story behind them, book a guide for the basilica, the museum or both at the basilica's tour and guides office.

Tips

Pick a Tuesday to Sunday if you want the museum as well, since it opens from 9am to 5pm and stays shut on Mondays. Visitors over 65 go into the museum free, so carry ID.

To have a Mass said for someone at home, ask at the sacristy office in the basilica before the service begins.