Santo Domingo Plaza

Santo Domingo Plaza is 3 blks. n.w. of the Zócalo, bounded by República de Venezuela, República de Peru, República de Chile and República de Brasil (M: Zócalo, line 2). This peaceful plaza—much smaller and much less crowded than the Zócalo—is surrounded by charming old buildings. Los evangelistas, professional printers, writers and editors, have long plied their trades under the arcades on the plaza's west side; public scribes began offering their services in the 1850s for citizens unable to write.

The Church of Santo Domingo (Iglesia de Santo Domingo) stands on the plaza's north side. Dating from 1736, it has a beautiful baroque exterior highlighted by Corinthian columns and ornate stone carvings of saints. Within the church's chapel are milagros, offerings given by the devout in thanks for a miraculous cure from infirmity or disease.