Vaulted Hall, San Francisco el Grande Convent, Antigua Guatemala

San Francisco el Grande, founded by Franciscan friars in the 16th century, once ranked among the largest religious complexes in colonial Antigua Guatemala. Earthquakes repeatedly damaged the convent, including the devastating 1773 Santa Marta quake that left much of the city, and this complex, in ruins. The vaulted stone-and-brick chambers that survive were part of the friars' living and working quarters, built with thick masonry arches designed to bear the weight of the upper floors. Restoration efforts over the past century have stabilized sections of the convent while leaving much of its original fabric exposed. The adjoining church, rebuilt after the quake, still holds the tomb of Hermano Pedro de San José Betancur, a Franciscan lay brother canonized in 2002 and revered as Guatemala's first saint.

Photo taken in February 2020.