Málaga

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MUNICIPAL MUSEUM. Located in the first building in the city's Paseo de Reding avenue, at the end of the Park, is the Municipal Museum, the scene of exhibitions of great artistic interest and a centre for the promotion of culture through conferences and similar activities.
ANDALUSIAN TECHNOLOGY PARK. A few kilometres from the centre of the city, in the suburb of Campanillas, is the Andalusian Technology Park, one of the region’s major technology centres and home to a large number of industries in the field of technological production and development.
MALAGA UNIVERSITY. Six kilometres from the centre of the city is Teatinos, Malaga’s university campus, a seat of learning for over 30,000 students in the fields of Telecommunications Engineering, Industry, Chemistry and Infromation Technology, Biotechnology and Robotics and Natural Science, tourism-related studies at the Higher Andalusian School of Touristic Studies, Translation and Interpretation, Economic Science and Information Science. Also available here are Spanish courses for foreigners of all levels.
Málaga Port.
“EL RETIRO” ORNITHOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL PARK. CHURRIANA. Opened as an Ornithological and Botanical Park on 20 November 1995, El Retiro’s gardens, which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, are amongst the most important in Spain, and, since the last decade of the 20th century, have been home to an fascinating ornithological collection comprising both exotic and Mediterranean bird species. A visit to the gardens consists of three separate tours: the Botanical Gardens, the Ornithology Park and the Historical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens contain over eighty species from all over the world and more than eight hundred specimens of trees and plants, some of which are over three hundred years old, scattered throughout the estate: cypresses, araucarias, love trees, American walnuts, black cane bamboo trees, etc. The Ornithological Park is home to some one hundred and fifty exotic and Mediterranean bird species. The Historical Gardens are subdivided into the vegetable garden, the patio garden and the court garden. The vegetable garden was the first to be built, in the late 17th century by the bishop Brother Alonso de Santo Tomas. It was originally the allotment where the monks grew fruit and vegetables. The 18th-century patio garden is markedly Italian in character, while the court garden was built in French style between 1784 and 1791.
Three Graces Fountain.
Viewed from Pablo Ruiz Picasso Promenade.
A view of Málaga from the Gibralfaro Castle.
TORRIJOS MONUMENT. At the centre of the Plaza de la Merced square stands a monument bearing the words: "Cenotaph erected in memory of General Torrijos and his 48 companions", shot on a Malaga beach by troops of Ferdinand VII’s absolutist régime on 11 December 1831.
LA MERCED SQUARE. This square, one of Malaga’s best-known corners due to its romantic air and as the scene of Picasso’s childhood, played a very different role in days gone by: in Roman times, it was an amphitheatre, a battlefield during mediaeval wars, the scene of cattle fairs and, finally, the site of a market. Its present-day design dates back to the mid 18th century.
CONSTITUTION SQUARE. Throughout the city’s history, this has been considerd as the centre of Malaga. It has been home to the Town Hall, the prison, and a building known as the Consulate House, an emblematic building (now a National Monument) that housed the Harvesters’ Charitable Fund, the Terrestrial Maritime Consulate and the Friends of the Country Economic Society over the years. In the 16th and 17th centuries, bullfights, festivals and even public executions were staged here. The hub of the city, it played host to religious institutions which attracted notable public fervour and later, in the 19th century, it was occupied by the local press offices and the studies of the most prestigious photographers, it was the focal point for local gossip and the meeting place of bullfighters, artists and performers. Though now used for commercial rather than administrative purposes, it is still a gathering point for the people of Malaga, taking centre stage during Holy Week and the August Fair.
LARIOS STREET. Seen during the August Fair from the Plaza de La Marina square.
THE LIGHTHOUSE. Viewed from the beach near Pablo Ruiz Picasso Promenade.
EPISCOPAL PALACE. The main façade of Malaga Cathedral faces the Plaza del Obispo square, one of the most secluded and unusual in the old city centre; on one side of this square is the monumental Bishop's Palace (Palacio del Obispo), once the official residence of the bishop of the diocese. The doorway of this small palace and its counterpart in the Cathedral both date back to the 18th century and were the work of the master craftsman Antonio Ramos.
LA CONCEPCION BOTANICAL GARDENS. The world’s major tourist guides have been recommending a visit to these impressive botanical gardens since the beginning of the century. In 1943, it was declared a garden of historical and artistic importance. Since 1990, it has been the property of Malaga City Council and in that same year it was opened to the public, who now have access to a tropical garden that is unique in Europe, flourishing in Malaga’s singular climate. La Concepcion and Malaga Park have similar origins: both were related to sea commerce between Malaga and the rest of the world in the 19th century, and both were born out of the passion among the Malaga bourgeoisie for collecting tropical and subtropical flora, which eventually led to the amassing of one of the finest collections in Europe. These gardens are home to almost 4,000 plants belonging to 300 tropical and subtropical species, including 500 palm trees of 25 different species, many of which are represented by extraordinary specimens of extreme beauty.
SEA SCHOOL MUSEUM-AQUARIUM. The main aim of the Sea School Museum-Aquarium is to inform the public of the rich and varied sea life which inhabits the Alboran Sea, its natural areas, its people and its marine traditions while at the same time raising awareness of the need to preserve and protect the marine environment. A visit to this interesting museum-aquarium reveals a number of open spaces, such as the shark and ray room, the invertebrates room, where the visitor will be surprised by a giant squid specimen almost two metres in length, the cetacean room and the 'Man and the Sea' room. These museum-type rooms contrast with the section devoted to aquariums and living specimens to give a complete overview of the Alboran Sea.
CERVANTES THEATRE. The theatre stands on the site once occupied by the Prince Alfonso Theatre, built in 1862 and completely destroyed six years later by a major fire. The new theatre was built in the style of the leading European theatres of the 18th century, and was opened in late 1870 under the name Miguel de Cervantes. Worthy of note inside are the magnificent oil paintings which cover the ceiling, the work of Bernardo Ferrandiz. In 1984 it became the property of the City Council.
ATARAZANAS MARKET. The present-day Atarazanas Market, along with other areas of the city, such as the Park or the Customs House, bears excellent witness to the silent struggle of the people of Malaga through the ages to reclaim land from the sea. For centuries, this spot was occupied by the Moslem tarazanas or atarazanas, a military shipyard located on the beach; the stone arch which still stands here dates back to the 16th century, and the Nazari coat of arms can be seen on both sides of the entrance. The modern market was built at the end of the 19th century, since then, on weekday mornings, it has been the ideal to sample daily life in the city and find a magnificent range of produce from Malaga's agricultural lands and coast.
POPULAR ARTS MUSEUM. The old Meson de la Victoria Inn was rehabilitated to house the Fine Arts Museum, which offers the vistor the chance to travel back in time to witness Malaga life in the 18th and 19th centuries.
CONSULATE HOUSE. One of Malaga's most emblematic buildings (declared a Monument of Architectural and Artistic Interest in 1932) has been home over the years to the Harvesters' Charitable Fund, the Terrestrial Maritime Consulate, the Friends of the Country Economic Society, the Royal San Telmo Academy of Fine Arts and the School of Fine Arts since its construction at the end of the 18th century.
HOLY CHRIST OF HEALTH CHURCH. A former Jesuit church, it was built in the 17th century observing the canons of La Compañia. Inside, the highlight is its extensively-decorated dome. The chancel is home to the Santo Cristo de la Salud (Holy Christ of Health) statue which, according to legend, cured a large proportion of the population of Malaga of a terrible epidemic which ravaged Andalusia at the end of the 17th century when it was carried in a procession through the city streets.

History

In the 1st century B.C., Estrabon mentions a Phoenician town which stood at the foot of the hill now occupied by the city's fortress, the Alcazaba.

Roman Malaga enjoyed periods of great splendour, as witnessed by its Roman Theatre and other important archaeological remains, as well the statute which declared it a confederate, self-governing city, known as the Lex Flavia Malacitana.

A long period of decadence followed the fall of the Roman Empire. In 571, the city was captured by the Visigoth king Leovigildo.

In 711, Tarik, lieutenant to the governor of the north of Ifriquiya (Africa) Muza ben Nusayr, crossed the straits of Gibraltar (Yebel-Tarik) with almost 10,000 men to begin the conquest of the whole peninsula -a feat which took just five years-, which was achieved more by convincing its inhabitants of the virtues of a new creed and way of life than by using military force. That same year, Malaga was taken by the Moslems, and a new chapter in its history, one which was to span eight centuries, had begun. The area became part of the Nazari kingdom of Granada at the end of the 13th century. During this period, the city flourished, living from the commerce of its agricultural produce -sugar cane, almonds, raisins, figs, saffron and olives, while its silk textiles and fine ceramics also acquired great prestige.

It was during the Moslem occupation that the city walls were built, running from the sea to the Alcazaba fortress, climbing up the left bank of the River Guadalmedina as far as the present-day Calle Alamos street, from where it headed towards Calle Granada, so named because it was here that a gate led out of the city and onto the road from Malaga to Granada; the whole of the walled area was protected by Gibralfaro Castle.

The traveller and geographer Ibn Batuta (1304-1368) wrote of Malaga: "It is one of the most beautiful capital cities in all Al-Andalus. It combines the advantages of inland regions with those of coastal cities. Its figs and almonds, its fine ceramics and gold porcelain are exported to distant locations to the East and to the West".

The 14th century saw the Christians make their first attempts to r

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