World Heritage Identification Number: 65
World Heritage since: 1979
Category: Cultural Heritage
WHE Type: Historic Cities & Urban Areas
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇬🇹 Guatemala
Continent: Americas
UNESCO World Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
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A Historical Journey Through Antigua Guatemala: A UNESCO World Heritage Site
Antigua Guatemala, often simply referred to as Antigua, is a captivating city nestled in the central highlands of Guatemala. Established in the early 16th century, it served as the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 until 1773, leaving behind an impressive legacy of Baroque-influenced architecture and urban planning. This rich historical heritage earned Antigua the designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1973.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Antigua, the capital of the Captaincy-General of Guatemala, was founded in the early 16th century. Built 1,500 m above sea-level, in an earthquake-prone region, it was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773 but its principal monuments are still preserved as ruins. In the space of under three centuries the city, which was built on a grid pattern inspired by the Italian Renaissance, acquired a number of superb monuments.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ii): Antigua Guatemala contains living traces of Spanish culture with its principal monuments, built in the Baroque style of the 18th century preserved today as ruins. Antigua Guatemala was a centre for the exportation of religious images and statues to the rest of the American continent and to Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Criterion (iii): Antigua Guatemala is one the earliest and outstanding examples of city planning in Latin America in which the basic grid plan, dating from 1543, has been maintained. Its religious, private and government buildings are outstanding evidences of Spanish colonial architecture in Antigua.
Criterion (iv): The many churches and monasteries in Antigua Guatemala testify to the influence of the Christian church, during the colonial period, on every aspect of daily life in the city. Barroco antigueño developed in this area, a regional adaptation of the Baroque style designed to withstand the earthquakes common in the region.
Encyclopedia Record: Antigua Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala, commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque-influenced architecture and layout dating from that period. These characteristics had it designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Antigua Guatemala serves as the capital of the homonymous municipality and the Sacatepéquez Department.Additional Site Details
Area: Not available
Number of Components: 9
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 14.556504 , -90.73381
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© Chad Davis, CC BY-SA 2.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
