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Marbella, 100 kilometres square and 24 kilometres of beach, is known all over the world as one of the classiest and most beautiful holiday destinations in Southern Europe. It has everything: beaches, mountains, old world charm, cosmopolitan atmosphere and services, countryside and city, and a wonderful climate that keeps the temperatures cooler in summer and warmer in winter than the rest of Malaga province. From Cabopino to Guadalmina, passing through the pleasure ports of Marbella and Puerto Banús, the coastline is fine sand all the way, and the land that goes back from the beaches is a paradise of luxury housing developments, golf courses and beautiful mountain scenery. It is little wonder that Marbella has attracted the rich and famous for many decades, and that many people who come here on holidays decide to stay. The history of the town goes back to Palaeolithic times, as we can see from archaeological remains found in the area. Then the Romans came and settled, leaving clear evidence of their presence in the area, especially in the Las Bóvedas area and the Villa of Río Verde, with its exceptional mosaics. In Marbella too is one of the most interesting Visigoth remains in the country, the basilica of Vega del Mar, which the Moors called the "well lived in," and there built a fortress that has survived the passage of time. The urban centre they built on the spot is now Marbella’s Old Town, with aristocratic buildings like the Hospital Bazán and convents that hold a permanent place in the history books of this nation: from one of them the ransom of Christian prisoners, among them Cervantes, was negotiated. In modern times, Marbella has been a mining town and an agricultural centre before becoming what it is today. It was the capital of the iron industry in this country in the 19th century, with three plants in La Finca de La Concepción and three in the El Ángel area, belonging to the Heredia and Ejiró families. A full 75 percent of all the iron produced in Spain came from the El Peñoncillo works at that time, but it closed down in 1931. Competition from Northern Spain sank the industry in the south when coke replaced vegetable fuel in the production process. But Marbella was also a pioneer in agriculture in Andalucía, with the Marqués del Duero farm and, on a lesser scale, the El Ángel farm making an industry of what had previously been a subsistence activity. At the end of the 19th century, the aristocrat Manuel Gutiérrez de la Concha designed what is now San Pedro Alcántara, the biggest farming entity built in this country, covering 10,000 hectares of land.
The economy of the town suffered badly both before and after the Civil War, and did not begin to recover until the early 1940s, when Ricardo Soriano, the Marquis of Ivanrey, set up in the hotel and restaurant business at La Venta and Albergues del Rodeo. He had a new idea about how hotels should look, influenced by the American bungalow hotel, and applied it here. The result was a group of very comfortable, rustic-style housing units around a central social and administrative building, and the idea caught on. He was well connected socially, and began to attract the rich and famous to this area. Hotels were built, the first being the El Fuerte, followed by the San Nicolás, the Guadalmina, the Salduba and the emblematic Los Monteros and Don Pepe. José Banús, a rich businessman, then built a huge tourism complex that became Puerto Banús, with hotels like the Hotel del Golf and the Andalucía Plaza, along with golf courses, a bullring, discotheques and a pleasure port. With the arrival of holidaymakers like Prince Rainier and princess Grace of Monaco, Puerto Banús became the prime pleasure port of Southern Europe. Marbella grew and grew, attracting big money in property investment and tourism infrastructure. New pleasure ports were built and new golf courses laid down, new hotels and restaurants continued to spring up around the municipality, and through it all Marbella maintained its reputation for excellence. It continues to be one of the classiest tourist destinations in Southern Europe.

Places to be Visited:

Plaza de los Naranjos
Puerto Banus
Old Town Hall
Cabopino
Casino

Tourist Information:

Marbella Tourist Office, Glorieta de la Fontanilla, s/n. 29600.
Phone: 952 774 693 Fax: 952 774 693

On the web:
Visit Costa del Sol

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