The largest Catholic church in the eastern Caribbean, the Cathedral Basilica was built in 1897 on the south side of Derek Walcott Square. The exterior is a pleasant if not extraordinary brick and timber confection, but the moment you step inside you understand why this is one of the most striking buildings in the country.
The whole interior — walls, ceiling, the great central beams — is painted in vivid colours with biblical scenes by the local artist Dunstan St. Omer. The figures are unambiguously Caribbean: a Black Madonna, dark-skinned apostles, palm trees alongside the cypresses. Pope John Paul II raised the cathedral to a minor basilica during his 1986 visit.