Antigua has seen it all.

For more than 400 years, this former capital of Guatemala has been rocked by earthquakes, rained on by volcanic ash, and inundated by floods and mudslides. Fortunately, each time, Antigua has successfully resurfaced, and it is still one of the finest Spanish-colonial towns in the Americas.

Water and mud from the sides of Agua Volcano, unleashed by torrential rains, swept away Guatemala’s first permanent capital in 1541.

Planners chose a safer spot a short distance from decimated Ciudad Vieja (Old City) and soon laid out an orderly grid of avenidas and calles for the settlement we now know as Antigua. Despite frequent tremors, the town flourished until 1773, when an earthquake virtually leveled it.

Officials forced citizens to abandon their homes, and they left Antigua to decay. A new capital was eventually built on the site of present-day Guatemala City.

Misty Agua Volcano still looms over Antigua as a reminder of its tumultuous past. However, the 20th century brought this community of 30,000 back to life.

Colonial houses lining Antigua’s wide cobblestone streets continue to be painstakingly restored. Two centuries of debris have been cleared from quake-ravaged churches, convents, monasteries, and schools that now languish as romantic ruins. In 1972, the Guatemalan government established a national council to protect Antigua’s architectural treasures, and UNESCO added the city to its World Heritage List in 1979.

Since its rebirth, Antigua has faced new deluges. Foreign tourists and Spanish-language students have descended upon the town in increasing numbers. Antigua’s relaxed atmosphere, art boutiques and excellent restaurants also attract Guatemala City residents, who flood downtown streets on weekends. Fortunately, Antigua’s old-world ambiance seems immune to intrusions.

Maya women from nearby villages bring their produce and multicolored weavings to Antigua’s markets as they have for centuries, and people still greet each other with a formal "Buenos días."

The most popular spot in Antigua is its shady Parque Central (Central Park), where locals compete with tourists for space on ornate wrought-iron benches.

Antigua’s buildings attest to its shaky history. Some, such as Antigua’s massive Santiago Cathedral dominating Parque Central, are eternal works in progress, having been destroyed and rebuilt several times. The crumbling facades and tumbled, bougainvillea-draped walls of others endure as poetic monuments to Mother Nature’s power.

Most of Antigua’s colonial buildings date back to its "Golden Period," which spanned the first half of the 18th century. Thirty-one ecclesiastical structures were erected during this time, and decaying administrative structures surrounding the main plaza were transformed into elegant palaces. 

The architectural style of Antigua’s heyday has been nicknamed "earthquake baroque" because of its emphasis on squat buildings with thick stone walls, buttresses, and small, highly placed windows.

No other structure exemplifies Antigua’s unique architecture better than its cathedral. This imposing edifice decorated with columns, arches and niches spans an entire city block. However, it contains only the entrance to the original cathedral plus two restored chapels. The rest of the building’s jumbled remains are being consolidated and have been opened to the public, who can also visit its spooky network of underground burial vaults.

In addition to its many ruins, Antigua has some fine museums exhibiting colonial art, furniture, weapons, coins, rare books and the like.

Two tastefully designed new additions are the Museo Colonial and Museo Arqueologico, which opened in 1998 on the grounds of the Casa Santa Domingo, a former monastery that has been turned into a luxury hotel and cultural center. 

The softly lighted Museo Colonial houses a private collection of religious sculptures, silver artifacts, and paintings, while the cryptlike Museo Arqueologico harbors pre-Columbian artifacts, mainly from outside Antigua.

One of Antigua’s most fascinating places is the Casa K’ojom Music Museum, which has imaginative displays of pre-Hispanic and post-conquest musical instruments, ranging from gourd marimbas and wooden flutes to violins. Videos and photographs complement the exhibits, and there is even an effigy of Maximon, the comical cigar-smoking Mayan god of luck, celebration, revenge and sexual love.

GETTING THERE:

Tourist minivans provide transport to Antigua from Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport. The one-hour trip costs about US$10-$15. Bus service (fare $0.50) from the corner of Ca. 18a and Ave. 4a in Guatemala City’s Zona 1 is frequent. Antigua has hotels in all price ranges and makes a much more pleasant base for exploring the highlands than crowded Guatemala City, which can easily be visited on day trips.