Antigua Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala, in Sacatepequez department, that served as the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 until a series of earthquakes forced the colonial government to relocate to present-day Guatemala City in 1776. Its well-preserved Spanish colonial architecture, ruined churches and convents, and grid-plan streets earned the city UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1979. Antigua remains a center of Spanish-language schools, coffee growing in the surrounding volcanic highlands, and tourism, framed by the Volcan de Agua and the active Volcan de Fuego.