Templo y Exconvento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán

Templo y Exconvento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán Review

This towering 16th-century structure and its adjoining monastery appear even larger because they sit on a hill overlooking the village. The massive wooden doors face away from the village's main square.

The church's sheer size is its most stunning feature; its vaulted ceiling soars to almost 25 meters (82 feet). The gold-leaf retablo behind the main altar has five levels, each depicting various saints. Santo Domingo, of course, stands alone at the top. Some of the paintings on this retablo are by the Spanish master Andrés de la Concha. Don't miss the mudéjar (Moorish) designs in the wooden ceiling of the choir. The handsome 18th-century pipe organ was restored in 1998.

The site is being restored at a decent clip. At this writing, the church was closed and scaffolded, but the monastery was open—a stunning cobblestoned inner courtyard has been completed and beautifully stuccoed.