The city is coterminous with the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional ("D.

Hence the residents were called "Dominicanos" (Dominicans), which is the adjective form of "Domingo", and the revolutionaries named their newly independent country "La República Dominicana".Founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1496, on the east bank of the Ozama River and then moved by Nicolás de Ovando in 1502 to the west bank of the river, the city is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World.Santo Domingo is the site of the first university, cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress in the New World.where palms, blue sea and white sand make it an attractive place to meet and share a cold (super fria) Cerveza Presidente (Beer), flock at night, drawn by lively Latin music to Party Central, Avenida Duarte, Boca Chica. Restaurants put out colorful tables and chairs right on the street. from the Village Square Park, continuing east for several blocks, Duarte is closed to traffic.