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What better photo to wave goodbye to the Casa Antigüeña series than an image of the balconies against cloud-free deep blue sky, tell me?

Balconies are not very common in walls that face to the outside, unless of course they are on a second floor, like in the entry Sun-bathing in La Antigua Guatemala. However, balconies are more common in houses inside enclosed residential areas with security; like it is in this case.

Word of the Day Aside: Balcón (Balcony)
In Northern Italy the Longobardos (now Lombardos, from Germanic background) imposed the word balko (beam, balken in modern German) from which we got balco and later balcone which finally gave us the Spanish word balcón. (Source: La palabra del dí­a {ñ})

I have a few dozen more photos for the casa antigüeña series, but I believe I have shown you the most relevant rooms and architectonic elements. I am sure you don’t want to see the bathrooms or the garage and the such; right?!

Anyway, I would love to hear your impressions about the series as a whole, whether you found it too light, too boring, too long, or too anything. Please, take some minutes from your time and let me know your opinion. I will really appreciate it. Thanks.

We are just about done with the Casa Antigüeña series. Here you can see the master bedroom which basically has two large doors; one that opens into a balcony that overlooks a common area garden and the other (not seen) door opens to a private garden. Once again you find a fireplace which get very little use with the delightful weather of La Antigua Guatemala.

The tragaluces (sky lights) are those crystal blocks you see at the far end. Craig was asking if the the light washing the back wall in the kitchen was coming from the cupola. I promised Craig I was going to show the origin of the light washing the back wall in the kitchen. Well, the mystery is resolved; the light comes through those sky lights or crystal blocks you see here, which are located in the roof, right behind the cupola. Simple and effective, don’t you think?

Boy, how many architectonic terms in Spanish have you learnt through the Casa Antigüeña series?

The pila is basically a Guatemalan home staple. Normally the pila design has a water tank in the center and two sinks, one on each side of the water tank. One sink is for hand-washing your laundry and thus its surface is ribbed. The other sink is for doing dishes and the surface is smooth. There is a water faucet somewhere near the water tank to fill it up. Now, Guatemalan pilas are not as beautifully designed as the pilas found in La Antigua Guatemala; don’t you agree?

Of course, big part of the beauty of the Casa Antigüeña is found in its details, like the niches that can host angels, owls, figures of Santo Hermano Pedro, Jesus, Virgen Marí­a, et-cetera. It is nice to have a spot light to illuminate the niche at night, but during the day, the wonderful filtered sun light is more than enough.

Well if the panoramic view of one volcano is astonishing, the view of two volcanoes, Fuego and Acatenango, is breath-taking, especially at sunset and when Volcán de Fuego is putting up a show.

Just give me a hot cup of authentic chocolate from Antigua or a cup the best coffee in the world (from La Antigua Guatemala, of course) a let me be blissful while I listen to the sounds of the near-by fountains and contemplate the sun slipping away behind the silhouettes of Fire and Acatenango volcanoes.

Life is too damn short not to enjoy this glorious eternal Spring weather all year long; especially in Winter. Do you care to join me?

Update: LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA SELECTED AS TOP CITY
The readers of the prestigious Wanderlust Magazine, the magazine for people with a passion for travel, have awarded the 2009 Top City Prize to La Antigua Guatemala. Below you can read the news advance about the awards. Japan grabbed the Top Country award.

Antigua in Guatemala grabbed the Top City accolade, beating Luang Prabang in Laos, winner for the previous two years. (source: Wanderlust Magazine)

It is quite obvious that when one lives in the land of the eternal spring, one would like to have a nice rooftop living room to enjoy all the wonderful sunsets and fresh air. But what if the land of the eternal spring also came with astonishing panoramic views of three volcanoes, one of them active and such an exhibitionist, what is one to do with such dilemma?

What would you do in such a place?

The cúpulas (cupolas) has to be among the most distinctive architectonic elements of the Casa Antigüeña. Originally design as chimney for the kitchen or to provide light and air to a room, nowadays the cúpulas are mainly decorative pieces.

The cupolas break the otherwise flat rooftop line of the La Antigua Guatemala.

Don’t you want to have one these cupolas in your home? I know I do!

From the attic, it is only a matter of a few steps to reach the terrace or perhaps veranda would be more appropriate term.

Since the weather in La Antigua Guatemala is Spring-like year round, well it only makes sense to make the terrace or veranda accessible through stairways. From the terraces of the Casa Antigüeña you can get panoramic views of the volcanoes around Antigua. As of matter of fact, in many listings for rent or sell of houses around Antigua, you often find the “panoramic view of volcanoes” among the top selling arguments.

Hah, just wait until I show you the panoramic views of the volcanoes for this casa antigüeña!

Finally, we reached the loft in the second floor… oops, I meant the attic. Remember the building codes in La Antigua Guatemala prohibit new construction of two-story houses (wink, wink). They say nothing of really high ceilings in single story homes.

Anyway, you can see how the attic-turned-loft can be used for a guest room or studio. I like the terra cotta ceramic floor tiles set at 45˚ degree angle. I like their rich burned red color which is in harmony with dark mahogany wooden ceiling.

So this room can be called an attic (ático), loft (desván or tapanco) or simply the second floor.

In this escalara de caracol (winding staircase) you find the same repetitive azulejos (ceramic tiles) found in the stairway details photo from yesterday.

And I wonder aloud, how can things so simple be so beautiful? ¡Qué alguien me lo explique!

In this photo you can see how some simple details and their repetition turn a utilitarian architectonic device like the stairway into a gorgeous piece of every-day beauty. You take the bare stairway, add the martirinado effect (hammered and chipped-away) to the huella (the run), some repetitive patterns in the form of ceramic tiles to the contra-huella (the rise) and the zócalo (the skirting or baseboard) and you finish it with a very pleasant martirinado forged metal handrail and you’re set to go up and down with style!

In the Casa Antigüeña you often find stairways or staircases. Quite often you find forged metal handrails beautifully worked by the antigüeño blacksmiths.

Wait a minute Rudy, you’ve had said before that the building codes in La Antigua Guatemala prohibit new two-storey constructions. Oops, that’s right I said that. But, I did not mention at the time that architects are very creative and they figured that they can build a one-storey house with very high ceilings and then they can split some of the height and turn what would be the attic into a loft. Creative, I tell you! These architects always find a way where there is a will.

Now, I don’t know if the fireplace was an element of the original house from La Antigua Guatemala, but in recent years it looks like, under the influence of the expat community, the fireplace has become commonplace inside all the new houses. I say that I am not sure about the fireplace being an original architectonic element of the casa antigüeña since the weather in and around Antigua is always Spring season year-round.

The word for living room in Spanish is sala and the word for fireplace is chimenea which also applies for chimney and chiminea.

Can anybody say for sure if fireplaces were common in the original colonial homes?

The area for el comedor (dining room) in the casa antigüeña has always flowers nearby, light, lots of it and usually at least a window. Sometimes you also get to see arches or domes or both in the dining area of the houses from Antigua. In this case, the dining area is clean and elegant with three sources of light and a nice arched ceiling with bare terra cotta brick textures.

Who wants to join me for a cup of the best coffee in the world and champurradas any given afternoon?