Guatemala Guide
Antigua
Arch of Santa Catalina
Address: 5 Avenida Norte
The arch of Santa Catalinais one of Antigua's most emblematic structures and all that remains of the original convent founded here in 1609. By 1697 it reached maximum capacity with 110 nuns and six novices, and the arch was built in order that they could walk between the two halves of the establishment without being exposed to the pollution of the outside world. Somehow it managed to defy the constant onslaught of earthquakes and was restored in the middle of the nineteenth century; it is now a favoured, if clichéd, spot for photographers as the view to the Volcán de Agua is unobstructed from here.