Museum of the Americas and Mausoleum of Admiral Christopher Columbus in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The cross-shaped Columbus Lighthouse, El Faro a Colón, was built in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of the explorer’s arrival. A chapel at its center contains his tomb and, allegedly, his bones. But bigger than the controversy over Columbus’s remains was the eviction of thousands of impoverished local residents to make room for the lighthouse.

( ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images )

The cross-shaped Columbus Lighthouse, El Faro a Colón, was built in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of the explorer’s arrival. A chapel at its center contains his tomb and, allegedly, his bones. But bigger than the controversy over Columbus’s remains was the eviction of thousands of impoverished local residents to make room for the lighthouse.

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