The Panteón Nacional is housed in an 18th-century former Jesuit church on Calle de las Damas and serves as the mausoleum for Dominican national heroes. The interior is grand and dimly lit, with eternal flames burning in front of elaborate marble tombs. The permanent guard of honour in formal uniform adds to the solemn atmosphere.
The building's history is more interesting than its current function: built as a church in the 1740s, it was successively a tobacco warehouse, a theatre, and eventually a pantheon — a transformation driven entirely by the whims of whoever held power at the time. Entry is free, though visitors are expected to dress respectfully.