On July 29, 1773, the day of Santa Marta, earthquakes wrought such destruction that officials petitioned the King of Spain to allow them to move the capital to safer ground. The Spanish Crown ordered (1776) the removal of the capital to a safer location, to the Valley of the Shrine, where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. This new city did not retain its old name and was christened Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (New Guatemala of the Ascension) and its patron saint is Our Lady of Ascension. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was referred to as la Antigua Guatemala, or Old Guatemala.
Antigua was left to rusticate, largely but never completely abandoned. Today its monumental bougainvillea-draped ruins, and it’s preserved and carefully restored Spanish colonial public buildings and private mansions give form to a city of charm andromance unequaled in the Americas. In 1979 UNESCO recognized Antigua, Guatemala as a Cultural Heritage of Mankind site.
Upon entering the valley, you first notice the large volcanoes that dominate the horizon around Antigua.To the south of the city, is the Volcán de Agua or "Volcano of Water.” When the Spanish arrived, the local inhabitants, Cakchiquel Mayas, called it Hunapú. However, it became popularly known as Volcán de Agua after the earthquakeinduced mudslide from the volcano buried the second site of the capital.
To the west of the city is Acatenango and the Volcán de Fuego or "Volcano of Fire.” Fuego is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Acatenango has two peaks, Pico Mayor ( Highest Peak ) and Yepocapa, which is also known as Tres Hermanas (Three Sisters). Acatenango is joined with Fuego and collectively the volcano complex is known as La Horqueta.
The Fuego-Acatenango massif comprises a string of five or more volcanic vents along a north-south trend that is perpendicular to that of the Central American arc in Guatemala. From north to south known centers of volcanism are Ancient Acatenango, Yepocapa, Pico Mayor de Acatenango, Meseta, and Fuego.
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