Palacio de los Capitanes Generales at Dusk in Antigua Guatemala

The Palacio de los Capitanes Generales anchors the south side of Antigua Guatemala's Parque Central. Built after the 1717 earthquake destroyed an earlier government building, it served as the seat of Spanish colonial rule for the Kingdom of Guatemala, a territory that once extended from Chiapas to Costa Rica. The current structure dates largely to a 1764 reconstruction under architect Luis Diez de Navarro, following the Captaincy General's decision to rebuild rather than relocate. Restoration continued after the 1976 earthquake caused additional damage to the arcades. Antigua's colonial center, including this building, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Taken February 2020