Stone carving on the Cathedral of Santo Domingo in colonial Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Cathedral of Santa Maria La Menor was the first cathedral built in the Americas, completed about 1540 A.D. It is a Minor Basilica and is located in the old Colonial City of Santo Domingo. UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo. Carving represents the Pillars of Hercules with the crowns of Spain & the Holy Roman Empire.