  In this paper, we study the geometric and dynamical properties of maximal
representations of surface groups into Hermitian Lie groups of rank 2.
Combining tools from Higgs bundle theory, the theory of Anosov representations,
and pseudo-Riemannian geometry, we obtain various results of interest.
  We prove that these representations are holonomies of certain geometric
structures, recovering results of Guichard and Wienhard. We also prove that
their length spectrum is uniformly bigger than that of a suitably chosen
Fuchsian representation, extending a previous work of the second author.
Finally, we show that these representations preserve a unique minimal surface
in the symmetric space, extending a theorem of Labourie for Hitchin
representations in rank 2.
