ANTIGUA GUATEMALA – HISTORY

Antigua, the capital of the Captaincy-General of Guatemala, was founded in the early 16th century. Built 1,500 m above sea-level, in an earthquake-prone region, it was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773 but its principal monuments are still as ruins.

In the space of under three centuries the city, which was built on a grid pattern inspired by the Italian Renaissance, acquired a number of superb monuments.

This city possesses important museums like the Municipal Museum, the Museum of Colonial Arts located in the University San Carlos de Borromeo, the National Museum of Popular and Industrial Arts, Museum of the Ixchel Indians Customs, and the “Casa Kójom” which is dedicated to traditional music.

The colonial city still treasures the architecture of the building of the XVI century and they can be viewed walking throughout the ancestral stone streets.