Convento de Capuchinas

Antigua


Inaugurated in 1736 by nuns from Madrid, the convent of Las Capuchinas was seriously damaged by the 1773 earthquake and thereafter abandoned. Thanks to meticulous renovations in recent decades, it's possible to get a sense of the life experienced by those cloistered nuns, who ran an orphanage and women's hospital.

Wander round to admire the fine cloister with its stout columns and high arched passageways, remarkably restored washbasins and well-tended gardens. At the rear you'll find the convent's most unique feature, a towerlike structure of 18 nuns' cells built around a circular patio.