Antigua Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala, founded in 1543, was the capital of Spanish colonial government for the Kingdom of Guatemala, which included Chiapas (southern Mexico), Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
For the first century or more of its existence the city did not live up to the pretentious official title, but it ultimately grew into the most important city in Central America, filled with monumental buildings of ornate Spanish colonial architecture.
By 1773, in addition to the cathedral and government palace the city could boast of over 30 churches, 18 convents and monasteries, 15 hermitages, 10 chapels, the University of San Carlos, five hospitals, an orphanage, fountains and parks, and municipal water and sewer systems.
According to many authors, Antigua Guatemala in its heyday, with a population of perhaps 60,000, was surpassed in the New World only by Mexico City and Lima.
Throughout its history the city    was repeatedly damaged by earthquakes.
But on July 29, 1773, the day of Santa Marta, earthquakes wrought such destruction that officials petitioned the King of Spain to allow them to move the capital to safer ground, which led to the founding in 1776 of present-day Guatemala City.
Antigua was left to rusticate, largely but never completely abandoned.
Today its monumental bougainvillea-draped ruins, and its preserved and carefully restored Spanish colonial public buildings and private mansions give form to a city of charm and romance unequaled in the Americas.
In 1979 UNESCO recognized Antigua Guatemala as a Cultural Heritage of Mankind site. 
For more than two centuries, the seat of Spanish colonial government was the Palace of the Captains-General. Construction was begun on the original building in 1549 and completed in 1558, but the building has been repeatedly reconstructed and altered following damaging earthquakes.   
In 1735 the Casa de la Moneda (mint) was inaugurated in this large complex. But most of the structure was destroyed in the 1773 quakes that brought the city to its knees. Today the beautiful two-tiered arched façade has been restored, and the building houses government, city police, and INGUAT (Guatemala Tourist Institute) offices, but the present palace is but a small remnant of the former complex. The palacio was yet again heavily damaged in the Feb. 4, 1976 earthquake.    
On the east side of the Plaza de Armas stood the great Catedral, inaugurated on Nov. 5, 1680, after eleven years of construction. This huge building replaced an earlier cathedral begun in 1542 and worked on intermittently for many decades. Various notables from the Conquest were buried here: Bernal Diaz del Castillo, conquistador and author of The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, lived out his latter days in Antigua and was buried in the original cathedral; the remains of the Don Pedro de Alvarado, the conquerer of Guatemala, were brought here in 1568 for re-interment.
The 1680 cathedral was laid out with three aisles and salient transepts in a cruciform plan. Bays off the side aisles contained chapels. This church was the largest and most lavishly furnished in Central America. The bishop's palace was built along the north side of the cathedral and connected to it. In 1717 the structure was badly damaged by earthquakes, but was rebuilt. In 1743 it was raised to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral and became the seat of the archbishop. In 1773 it succumbed to the Santa Marta earthquakes.
The present day church is a reconstruction of a small portion --only as far back as the first two bays-- of the front of the cathedral. This reconstruction was completed in the 1820s, when the cathedral was converted into a parish church. The present façade differs only in minor ways from that shown in a 1784 sketch of the cathedral, and the lower story is very likely much as it was when first completed in 1680.
In the center of the Plaza de Armas stands this famous fountain. Designed in 1739 by Miguel Porras, one of the city's renowned colonial architects, the Fuente de las Sirenas (Fountain of the Sirens) is one of many gracing Antigua's principal plazas and courtyards. These fountains were more than just ornamental. Although piped water reached important buildings and dwellings in the seventeenth century, fountains served as water supplies for humble dwellings, even into the present century.
On the north side of the Plaza de Armas, facing the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales stands the Ayuntamiento or city hall, dating from 1743, and replacing an earlier, less imposing structure. Remarkably enough, this building was little damaged by the 1773 earthquakes. Today it houses two museums, the Museo de Santiago and the Museo del Libro Antiguo. The latter museum, the Museum of Old Books, is located in the main portal to the Ayuntamiento, the site of a printing press established in 1660.
Just off the southeast corner of the Plaza de Armas, across the street from the entrance to the ruins of the Catedral is the entry to Universidad de San Carlos, built around 1763, when the university, founded in 1676, was moved to this site. Today it houses the Museo de Arte Colonial, or Museum of Colonial Art.   
  

Interesting destinies in the neighborhoods of Antigua Guatemala   
   
Around the city you can find different and interesting places, from cultural centers to adventures in active volcanoes, landscapes change in a few minutes.   

Handicraft market

It's placed on Alameda de Santa Lucia, between 3a. and 4a. calle Poniente. It's possible to buy handycrafts, clothes, shoes,accessories, bracelets and necklaces.

Ciudad Vieja

Located only four kilometers to the south of the Antigua Guatemala, this place, is rich in history, and was the capital of the    kingdom 14 years, from 1527 to 1541.It underwent damage due to the originating floods of the volcan de Agua.  In order to visit it's necessary to take Alameda (avenue) of Santa Lucia.

San Juan el Obispo

Its construction dates from 1547 and is at the moment under the care of the Carmelite Sisters.  It lodges beautiful religious pieces and altarpieces of baroque style.  It has a calm plaza or park with a refreshing fountain .

San Pedro Las Huertas

It is a calm place and it counts with a plaza where sales of popular food usually are located.Its church is a great attraction. It has columns with fine solomonic airs and constitutes a true spectacle for the visitor. It has a single bell    tower located in their left tower.

San Felipe de Jesus

It is one of most visited places around Antigua Guatemala. Its atmosphere is very friendly; it has variety of restaurants with typical specialties, sales of crafts, the church and a plaza. The church of San Felipe is the focal point of the place. In order to arrive it is acceded by North 6a.  

Centro Cultural la Azotea

In the neighborhoods of Antigua Guatemala, in Jocotenango, this special cultural center was constructed in an old  plantation of coffee and contains three museums, restaurant and equestrian area. It is distinguished by its showy gardens, that constitute a pleasant spectacle of colors.  Its museums are:       

•         Museo Casa K'Jom  
•         Museo del Café  
•         Rincón Sacatepéquez  

Pastores

This famous region is recognized by its footwear and jackets, specially its boots.All these articles are produced by masterful craftsmen. Each unit is unique.

Volcan de Agua

For the adventurers, mountain climbers and sportsmen or sportswomen in general, it offers a challenge compensated by the view of the whole valley and the towns that can be appraised from the top. It's attitude is approximately 3.765 meters from the level of sea. The ascent difficulty is located over the average. It requires near five hours to reach his crater, there is a chapel improvised with rocks and a crucified Christ. It is recommendable to take a guide. The ascent begins from Santa Maria de Jesus.

Volcanes Acatenango y Fuego

Acatenango is the third volcano upper of Guatemala and volcan de Fuego is one of three active volcanos of the country.
The difficulty of ascent of both is not apt for those who do not practice sport.
Acatenango offers an impressive view that allows seeing the coastal line and part of the sea, the capital city, the Atitlán lake and its volcanos. It is possible to raise both.
It is recommended to take a guide.