The tall cross
Above the Vega Real valley.
Jos1950 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jos1950 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jos1950 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Santo Cerro, the «Holy Hill», is a pilgrimage site on a hill above the broad Vega Real valley near the city of La Vega. It is among the most sacred places in the Dominican Republic and the main shrine of the Virgin of Mercy, patron of the country, combining a white church, a tall cross and a distant view over the green plain. Popular tradition says the Battle of Santo Cerro, or Vega Real, took place on 27 March 1495, with Columbus ordering his men to pray and raising a cross here. Historians including José Guerrero Sánchez dispute this, arguing the battle was fought elsewhere and the link came later. The central part of the present building was finished in 1977. A winding road climbs among green trees to a small square before a white church with a red dome. On the edge of the hill stands a tall cross on a white base, with the whole plain behind it, its fields and palms running to distant mountains. From here you can also see, among the trees, remains of an old Franciscan convent at the foot of the hill, recalling the first city. It is 1.4 km in a straight line from La Vega Vieja and 25 km from Santiago. It gets very crowded on 24 September, the feast of the Virgin of Mercy, so plan for that. This is a place of worship, so dress modestly, stay quiet and do not take pictures during prayers. Bring water, and the light over the valley is best in the morning or just before sunset.
Above the Vega Real valley.
A red dome.
Fields to the mountains.
Santo Cerro hill, near La Vega
It is popular tradition, and some historians dispute it.
On 24 September, the feast of the Virgin of Mercy.
