Shopping and Artisans

Many art galleries can be found in the La Romana area featuring authentic works by locals artists.

Amber

Amber is appreciated for its inherent beauty and is widely used for the manufacture of ornamental objects. Often the amber contains beautifully preserved plant-structures, numerous remains of insects, spiders, annelids, crustaceans and other small organisms which became enveloped while the amber was still in a fluid state.

The Amber Coast, in the Dominican Republic contains a significant amber deposit. It is the only place where you can find blue, red and black amber which are classified as some of the more desireable varieties.

Blue amber, under artificial light, appears like ordinary amber, but under sunlight it has an intense fluorescent blue glow. When held against the sun it will appear like ordinary amber, and under ultraviolet light it will glow a bright milky-blue. This effect can be compared to the ocean, which, although transparent, can appear to the eye as anything from light blue to dark blue to black, depending on depth, mass, salinity, etc.

Shopping in La Romana

There are many opportunities to see and purchase authentic dominican art while visiting the island. Famous dominican artists include Guillo Perez, Ramon Oviedo, Rosa Tavarez, Alberto Ulloa, Candido Bido, Ada Balcacer, to name just a few. Crafts made from wood, horn, snail shell, pottery, ceramics, baskets, embroidery and pantings can be found in many of the shops in the area. Cigars and rum are also items sought by many tourists as a mememto of their trip to La Romana.

The Dominican Republic is the largest cigar producing country in the world with most production taking place in the Cibao Valley region (near Santiago). Many believe that Dominican cigars are superior in quality to the more famous Cuban cigars. You can find a variety of types of cigars in almost all supermarkets and gift shops.

Jewellery can be found in most La Romana gift shops and many jewellery items include the use of the islands national gemstone - amber. Beaded bracelets, earrings, necklaces and ankets are popular souvenir items.

Larimar is another gemstone that is unique to the Dominican Republic. Mined in the south of the country, the stone is polished to bring out the intense shades of blue, green and turquoise. The colors are reminisant of the ocean.

There are a multitude of gift and souvenir items that can be purchased. Smaller shops tend to not put a price on their goods and are open to bargaining with prospective customers over the price.