Parked Motorcycles Along a Cobblestone Lane in Antigua

Antigua's streets still follow the colonial grid laid out after the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala in 1543. The cobblestones covering them were cut from volcanic rock quarried in the surrounding highlands, a material choice tied directly to the region's volcanic geology. UNESCO added the historic center to its World Heritage list in 1979, citing its well-preserved layout of low, colonial-era buildings. Many structures here were rebuilt low to the ground after the 1773 earthquake that drove Spanish colonial authorities to relocate the capital to what is now Guatemala City. Volcán de Agua, visible at the end of many of the city's straight streets, has long served as a fixed point of reference in Antigua's urban design.