Altos de Chavón

[Chirimoya]

I agree with the last few comments, although it is still worth a visit for the sheer spectacle and megalomaniacal feat of having replicated a medieval Italian village in the Dominican countryside.

Generally though, a replica of a foreign thing is not what tourists want to see. I'm sure most would rather visit something authentically Dominican. A bit like all the alpine imagery in mountain resorts in the DR and other Latin American countries.

[London_Calling]

Casa de Campo is an awesome place, but I get goosebumps thinking about how much better - how much more - it may have come to be had Charles Bluhdorn lived for say another twenty years or so , ..

Perhaps he would have built that island off the Malecon in Santo Domingo.

Another thing which I never understood is why did Pope John Paul II consecrated St. Stanislaus Church. - surely there were/are more approriate churches in the country for this honour.

[Dolores]

The looks of Chavon were the results of circumstances. When the highway across Chavon River was blasted, mountains of rocks were available, thus the idea to use them in the construction of the village. And remember that Gulf & Western Industries was the owner of Paramount Pictures. Enter the set designer Roberto Coppa, an Italian who imposed his style.

Beyond that explanation, I think Chavon should also be judged for what it has produced... dozens of highly talented, and well-placed Dominican design artists that make us proud. I believe the setting has inspired the hundreds of students that have studied at the college there. It was Charles Bluhdorn inspiration to provide a place for exhibition and sale of Dominican arts & crafts, even from the Taino days, that evolved to be a center for development of Dominican artistic talent.

I think it is a success story.

[bachata]

[CFA123]

Originally Posted by Dolores

Beyond that explanation, I think Chavon should also be judged for what it has produced... dozens of highly talented, and well-placed Dominican design artists that make us proud. I believe the setting has inspired the hundreds of students that have studied at the college there.

In spite of how I feel overall about Altos de Chavon as a destination... the school of design and its students do deserve kudos. I had a couple of their graduates working for me as pattern makers... both very dedicated to their craft.

[bilijou]

I can see how Chavon may seem as an uninteresting place for outsiders. But if you’re a kid growing up in Romana (as I was) and you knew everybody there, it was unparalleled… the ultimate hangout spot… where I had a lot of firsts.