Altos de Chavon Pt 1

Below: Altos de Chavon

Altos de Chavon

Altos de Chavon Artists Village is a vibrant cultural community perched above the Chavon River.

Cobblestone paths, coral stone fountains and terra cotta buildings create a magical effect in this village designed by Robert Coppa,

an Italian architect.

Coppa worked as a Paramount movie set designer and he built the village in the late 1970s to emulate a 15th century southern Italian/Southern

Spanish village.[cont left]

Within Altos de Chavon village you will find craft workshops, artist`s studios, galleries, shops, and restaurants. Complementing this tranquil evocation of the past is the exuberant artistry of today.

The craft workshops are effectively small production centers where trained local artisans execute ceramic, silk-screen, and woven-fibre products.

From the lively clay apothecary jars to the brightly colored tapestries found in traditional Dominican houses, the craftsmen keep the richness of island myth, folklore, and handcrafted expression very much alive.

Whilst appealing to tourists the products retain their authentic integrity.

Weddings are frequent at the St. Stanislaus Church [see photo right], as few places can be more romantic than this.

[cont below] Altos de Chavon

The village is perched high above the Chavon River embodies half a millennium of the island's finest tradition of crafts and art.

The distant mountains of eastern Hispaniola merge with the sea to create the perfect setting for this celebration of the region's past.

The performing arts are showcased in the Altos de Chavon`s spectacular 5,000-seat open-air amphitheatre

Since its inauguration in 1982 by Frank Sinatra and Carlos Santana, the amphitheater has hosted concerts, symphonies, and artists of the calibre of Julio Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, Sergio Mendes,

Dizzy Gillespie, Air Supply, Pilobulos, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem have all performed here.