Capucin Convent

One of the most fascinating colonial sites in Antigua is Las Capuchinas, the Capuchin Convent, completed in 1736 under the direction of the chief architect of the city, Diego de Porres. Today the convent is partially intact and partially in ruins. The intact portions house a museum and offices for the National Council for the Protection of Antigua Guatemala. The ruined sections include baths for the nuns, and an unusual circular area containing novices cells, each complete with it own privy. Below this circular patio is a mysterious, subterranean chamber that resonates wonderfully on certain notes; no one seems to know the original purpose of this dungeon-like chamber. The ruined nave of the chapel, approximately 120 feet long, can be viewed from the nuns' choir loft, accessed from the second floor level of the ruins. From the second floor a great view can be had of the twin volcanoes Fuego (left, puffing steam in this photo) and Acatenango (right, with a puff of Fuego's steam drifting over it) . The peculiar stubby tower here is a chimney, for the refectory kitchen on the ground floor. Such chimneys are known as linternas due to their resemblance to an old-fashioned candle lantern.