Thousands regard architect Julia Vicioso as the quintessential Dominican diplomat. Always with a smile, a connection and a solution, the Dominican Republic’s long-time diplomat in Italy tells about her life among architecture history and diplomacy, when sharing insights with Revista Mercado and Revista Hola readers.
She is currently Minister Counsellor at the FAO Mission in Rome and has served in the same position at the Dominican Embassy to the Holy See.
Her fruitful career of 25 years is leaving a legacy for future generations. Her legacy includes the chapel dedicated to the Virgen de la Altagracia in an important Roman basilica since 2006, the project for the installation of the image of La Altagracia in the façade of a palace in the center of Rome, and important research on the Italian origin of the Altagracia image that is in Higuey in the Dominican Republic.
Vicioso made headlines in Italy for uncovering that it was Florentine physician Gian Iacopo Peri (or Penni) who had introduced Leonardo da Vinci to the Confraternity of the Florentines in Rome where he intended to build a huge church for the Florentine Community in Rome. This affiliation was crucial for the Renaissance genius, as it allowed him to aspire to design a new church sponsored by the Medici family.
Vicioso also discovered that Peri was, in fact, Francesco Penni, the brother and assistant of the celebrated painter Raphael Sanzio, who used the pseudonym Penni. This revelation opened new avenues for research into this enigmatic historical figure.
Additionally, Vicioso unearthed previously unreleased documents detailing the first ten years of Cardinal Cesare Baronio’s priesthood. Baronio is widely regarded as the father of ecclesiastical history.
Vicioso is working on four books of much importance for the Dominican cultural heritage.
In its final stages, a first book focuses on the Alcázar de Colón. This work features extensive documentation, numerous historical photographs, and designs illustrating its various historical phases and modifications. She shares little-known details related to the leading historic attraction in the Colonial City after having had access to materials from the 1956-1958 restoration project, generously provided by the Barroso family. This Renaissance palace, the first of its kind in the Americas, was based on an Italian design given to Diego Colón by his tutor, Pedro Mártir de Anglería, from the Spanish court.
Other works in progress cover the first colonial churches of Santo Domingo, and a volume dedicated to documents connected to the era of dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, whose archives were recently organized.
When interviewed as she is about to reach 25 years in diplomacy, Vicioso leaves a message for the new generations interested in a career in humanistic fields and diplomacy. “Training, language proficiency, international experience, and a dedication to service are essential,” she asserts. She adds that other characteristics for a career in diplomacy are discretion, ethics, and the ability to work as part of a team. “Diplomacy is not just any profession: it is a commitment to the country rooted in integrity at every level,” says the diplomat.
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Revista Mercado
18 June 2025