On reaching Higüey, in the distance you will see the astonishing concrete arch of the basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, standing at a height of 80m. Two Frenchmen, A. J. Dunoyer de Segonzac and Pierre Dupré designed the building in the 1950s. The basilica was inaugurated in 1971, consecrated in 1972, and has since become a major centre of pilgrimage. Its beautiful stained-glass windows were made in Chartres and its belltower is one of the highest of Latin America.