"The first stone of this cathedral, the oldest in operation in the western hemisphere, was set in 1514 by Diego Columbus, son of the great explorer (the ashes of both father and son are said to have once resided in the chapel's crypt). Construction however didn’t begin in earnest until the arrival of the first bishop, Alejandro Geraldini, in 1521. From then until 1540, numerous architects worked on the church and adjoining buildings, which is why the vault is Gothic, the arches Romanesque and the ornamentation baroque. It’s anyone’s guess what the planned bell tower would have looked like: a shortage of funds curtailed construction, and the steeple, which undoubtedly would have offered a commanding view of the city, was never built." Source here
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