Antigua Guatemala

This city is the most representative of the colonial era. Located just 45 kilometers from Guatemala City, its beauty has made tourism its principal source of income, followed by its coffee which is widely sought in the international market. Founded in 1543, La Antigua was once the third most important Spanish colony in the Americas, ruling over what is now southern Mexico and all of Central America. It was host to more than 30 monastic orders which built elaborate monasteries, convents and cathedrals within the town's relatively small area. But the city was prey to frequent earthquakes and tumbled buildings were frequently reconstructed, until 1773 when La Antigua was destroyed and the capital subsequently moved to its present location of Guatemala City.

The city's original name was Santiago de los Caballeros, and the town fair is still celebrated on the saint's day for Santiago, July 25, each year. The town has evolved the most elaborate Easter week celebration in the hemisphere with daily processions passing over intricate carpets made of colored sawdust and flowers. Three volcanoes, Agua, Fuego and Acatenango tower over the city, providing a spectacular view above the vine-covered stucco walls painted with Mediterranean colors. Visitors to La Antigua shouldn't miss three church ruins in particular. The San Francisco cathedral stands alongside a roofless monastery destroyed by earthquakes. La Merced cathedral and ruins are full of fascinating baroque details. Las Capuchinas convent, the most interesting of the town's monastic ruins where visitors can observe how architects dealed with the periodic heartquakes during the Colonial period.