Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
de las Casas, bishop Francisco Marroquín, artist Tomás de Merlo, English priest/traveler
Thomas Gage, and architect Juan Bautista Antonelli.
Antigua's prominence came crashing down in 1773. The city was rocked throughout
mostoftheyearbyaseriesofearthquakes,whichlatercametobeknownastheTerremotos
de Santa Marta. Two earthquakes occurred on July 29th. The final blows would be de-
liveredonSeptember7andDecember13.Thecitywasofficiallymovedthefollowingyear
to its present location in modern-day Guatemala City.
Antigua lay in ruins occupied mainly by squatters, its monuments pillaged for building
materialsforthenewcapital.Itwasn'tuntilthemid-19thcenturythatitbecameonceagain
populated and its buildings restored, in part with the money from the region's newfound
coffeewealth.Thecitywasdeclaredanationalmonumentin1944andcameunderthepro-
tection of the National Council for the Protection of Antigua Guatemala in 1969. It was
declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The council has done a fairly decent
jobatprotectingandrestoringthecity'sculturalandarchitecturalheritage,thoughbuilding
code violations are not at all unheard of. Still, many power lines have gone underground
and truck traffic has been effectively banned from the city's streets, greatly reducing noise
pollution.
A week in Antigua would give you ample time to explore the town, its ruins, museums,
and churches, maybe climb a volcano, visit a coffee farm, and do some shopping. Depend-
ing on whether or not you plan to study Spanish, you could easily spend several weeks in
Antigua. Some choose to study Spanish for a week just to brush up on their skills or get
a very basic foundation before moving on to other parts of Guatemala. At the minimum,
you should plan on spending two nights here. Some have even recommended Antigua as
a long weekend getaway from cities such as Miami, Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas because
of its proximity and ease of access. The Guatemala City international airport is about a
45-minute drive away.
