Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ales
(head coverings),
tzutes
(shawls) and
huipiles
displayed here. English tours are avail-
able.
Cementerio General
( 7am-noon & 2-6pm)
Antigua's municipal cemetery, southwest of the market and bus ter-
minal, is a conglomeration of tombs and mausoleums decked with wreaths, exotic flowers
and other signs of mourning. Proatur (
Click here
)
offers an escort to this out-of-the-way
site on request.
CEMETERY
TOP OF CHAPTER
1
East of Parque Central
Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo
MONASTERY
( 7820-1220; 3a Calle Oriente 28; admission Q40; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun)
Founded by
Dominican friars in 1542, Santo Domingo became the biggest and richest monastery in
Antigua. Following three 18th-century earthquakes, the buildings were pillaged for con-
struction material. The site was acquired as a private residence in 1970 by an American
archaeologist, who performed extensive excavations before it was taken over by the Casa
Santo Domingo Hotel (
Click here
)
.
The archaeological zone has been innovatively restored as a 'cultural route.' It includes
the picturesque ruined monastery church, the adjacent cloister with a replica of the origin-
al fountain, workshops for candle and pottery makers and two underground crypts that
were discovered during the church excavations. One of these, the Calvary Crypt, contains
a well-preserved mural of the Crucifixion dating from 1683.
Also part of the archaeological zone are six museums, which can all be visited with one
admission ticket. This museum route may be entered either through the hotel or the
Universidad de San Carlos extension on 1a Av. Starting from the hotel side, they include
the following:
The
Museo de la PlaterÃa
has silverwork masterpieces including incense burners, candelab-
ras and crowns.
Museo Colonial
shows canvases and wood sculpture on religious themes
