Established in the 16th Century as the capitol of the Spanish colonial government for the Kingdom of Guatemala, which at the time included much of present-day Central America, Antigua is a living museum of Spanish colonial architecture.
The seat of Spanish power, the Palace of the Captain’s General still stands prominently across from Antigua’s Parque Central.
The iconic Santa Catalina Arch, originally constructed to allow cloistered nuns to travel from a convent to a school without stepping outdoors, beautifully straddles the city’s cobblestone streets.
The magnificent Senora de la Merced Cathedral rises from the earth as if a giant confection.
Other impressive churches, like Cathedral de Santiago, have also been preserved and restored.
While the ruins of other once grand buildings, claimed by the area’s frequent earthquakes, dot the cityscape.
And everywhere, the three volcanoes that circumscribe Antigua loom on the horizon.
Everywhere Once 
Wow, this makes me feel like I’m back there! Did you stay in “our” hotel?? It was so fun meeting up with you in Antigua … right now I’m in Pasco, Peru — a mining town northeast of Lima that is not that far from the capital but at 15,000 feet, takes 8 hours to get to, and once you get here you wonder why you bothered. Super unattractive town, BUT outside in the hills, it’s like Montana — gorgeous Big Sky Country with alpacas, llamas and even a few stray vicuna all over the empty landscape. Wish you were here .. and THANKS again for supporting Heifer!!!
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Antigua Antigua Antigua..for the last week weeks coincidentally I read some other posts about this place over the bloggosphere. Never really heard the name before (I thought it was Antigua & Barbuda), but judging from your photographs it must be a really nice place to go.
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I loved the quaintness of Antigua… You cover that region and let me cover Asia and Middle East now – then we’ll swap. Yeah?
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I love the old architecture. Great photos!
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Wow! Beautiful images! I know of the ‘Antigua’ in the West Indies. Was unaware that there was another in Guatemala!
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Great post.
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Skype has opened its online-dependent buyer beta
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