Antigua, the cap­i­tal of the Cap­­tain­­cy-Gen­er­al of Guatemala, was found­ed in the ear­ly 16th cen­tu­ry. Built 1,500 m above sea-lev­­el, in an earth­­quake-prone region, it was large­ly destroyed by an earth­quake in 1773 but its prin­ci­pal mon­u­ments are still pre­served as ruins. In the space of under three cen­turies the city, which was built on a grid pat­tern inspired by the Ital­ian Renais­sance, acquired a num­ber of superb mon­u­ments.