Guatemala Guide
Antigua
Las Capuchinas
Address: Junction of 2 Calle Oriente and 2 Avenida Norte
Opening time: Daily 9am–5pm
Price: US$4
The ruins of Las Capuchinas, the largest of the city's convents, are some of the best preserved but least understood in Antigua. The Capuchin nuns, who came from Madrid, were rather late on the scene, founding the city's fourth convent in 1726. They were only granted permission by the colonial authorities on the condition that the convent would exact no fees from its novices. The Capuchin order was the most rigorous in Antigua. Numbers were restricted to 25, with nuns sleeping on wooden beds with straw pillows. Once they had entered the convent it's thought the women were not allowed any visual contact with the outside world; food was passed to them by means of a turntable and they could only speak to visitors through a grille.
The ruins are the most beautiful in Antigua, with fountains, courtyards and massive earthquake-proof pillars. The tower or "retreat" is the most unusual feature, with eighteen tiny cells set into the walls of its top floor, each having its own independent sewage system. Two of the cells have been returned to their original condition to demonstrate the extreme austerity of the nuns' lives.