Malaga Monuments

In each corner, each street, each village, we can find one of those pieces that are not there by chance but they form part of our rich cultural heritage.

We start the way from the monumental part of Malaga, where we can find the most important legacy, the centred Catedral de la Encarnacion, traditionally called “La Manquita” (with one arm). It was created by the Catholic Monarchs, with many different architectural styles that we can admire in the great walls of the cathedral like Elizabethan Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance… 254 years were needed to build it, and however it has not been yet finished. Therefore, we can understand why they called it “La Manquita” and it is because the south tower is not finished. Inside, we can visit the great art pieces that it posses, like the organ from the 18th century, the collection of baroque pictures, Ntra. Sra. De las Angustias Chapel, Cristo de la Buena Muerte Chapel with images sculpt by Pedro de Mena, etc. Nearby by the Catedral, we find an old fortress habited in the XI century by Arab caliph and nowadays, it is the Museo Arqueologico Provincial (the archaeological museum of the province). These walls house beautiful gardens decorated with fountains and channels. Walking along this garden we arrive to the Roman Theatre Ruins that Muslims used as a quarry to create some pieces of the Alcazaba, which is closed to it. The Alcazaba is connected with the Gibralfaro Castle by two corridors that begins in the towers. The Centro de Interpretacion (interpretation centre) of the Castle shows tourists the time between 1487 and 1925 when the castle was used as a military fortress or as a coast watchtower.

Another important Alcazaba is the one of Antequera which is an impressive guardian of the city. Mazes of gardens and fountains precede different monuments such us the Torre del Homenaje, that posses the largest bell of the city, the Torre Blanca and the Door of Malaga with Muslim style. This monument is considered a National Heritage. The way to access the square, where is located the entry of the Alcazaba, is guarded by the Arco de los Gigantes of Renaissance style that was built in 1585 with inscriptions and Roman statues. Passing the Arch we can find the Real Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor, recognized as a National Monument because of its greatness and beauty. The construction took place between 1514 and 1550. The Collegiate of Renaissance style, posses three Mudejar armours that cover the naves. There was created the Catedra de Gramatica y Latinidad founder of the poetic group Siglo de Oro. Although its doors are closed for the public, some times sporadic concerts are organized, in some part, because of its excellent acoustic sound.

Antequera is the place with more number of churches and convents; however, between al of them, we should mention la Iglesia del Carmen built between 1583 and 1633. The decoration is very impressive because of the altarpiece of the mayor chapel dated from the middle of the 18th century.

The surrounding areas of this village show the pass of the Bronze Period men in the Menga, Viera and Romeral Dolmens which are dated between 2500 and 1800 year b.C. these dolmens are considered the most important ones in Europe. The Menga Dolmen posses the largest ceiling rock: 180 tones.

We also have to mention the colossal Buddhist temple of Benalmadena. The Estupa de la Iluminacion, created in 2003, is the largest one in the occidental world with 33 m. tall, 25 m. width and 25 m. long. The meditation room measures 100 metres square and 6 metres tall. The Stupa is an authentic representative engineering of the Buddhist harmony and peace. The research of other cultures was the reason for the construction of the Castillo de Colomares, in honour of Cristobal Colon and the discovery of the America, which is probably the largest monument created in his honour. It was built by Esteban martin with the help of two bricklayers from Benalmadena and the construction express the XVI century periods with Gothic, Romanic and Byzantine styles.
However, in this order history were bats and no pigeons that drove some children to a place that later on would be called Catedral Natural de la Costa del Sol. This occurred in the 1959 year and nowadays one of those children, Miguel Muñoz, woks as guide of the Nerja Cave which posses a great geological richness: belen, cascada, fantasma and cataclismo are the ingenious denominations to identify the different rooms. Imaging how magnificent is the cave, that just a third part of it is available for tourist visit. Imagination together with the history and the whims of the earth makes these caves, also called “cuevas de las maravillas” (caves of the wonder), one of the most visited places in Costa del Sol with around 2000 people per day.

The Cascadas room has capacity for 600 visitors that can enjoy the Festival de Danza y Musica, celebrated in 1960 by the ballet “Le Tour de Ballet” with the symphonic orchestra of Malaga. After the luxurious Festival de la Cueva, some famous singer and dancers have played in the Caves such as Monserrat Caballet, Carlos Alvarez, Jose Carreras, Joaquin Cortes and of course Rostropovich in 1991 with the presence of Queen Sofia.

The Lagos, Virgen and Marco Craso rooms are the scenarios of legends told by the guide of the Treasure caves. This name comes from the believing that inside this caves there are treasures of five Moorish Kings. This mysterious cave called Rincon de la Victoria shown prehistoric utensils and cave pictures.

And now, we pass from the caves to the sky. Above the Tajo River in Ronda was built The Puente Nuevo to join the old and new neighbourhood of the city. The construction was began in 1735 and finished, with some problems during this period, in May of 1793 when it is celebrated the party of this municipality. This impressive monster of the stone contains inside the Centro de Interpretacion, where you can know more about the fauna, vegetation, history and geology of Ronda. During the construction of it there was a collapse that also suffered the Ronda bullring, one of the most prestigious one inside and out of Spain. The same architect, Martin de Ardehuela, has built both monuments.
The structure of the Ronda bullring is in stone that came from the Ronda quarry. With a neoclassic style and on the contrary of other bullrings, the presidential balcony is situated above the door where the bulls get in the bullring. It is considered the biggest bullring in the world because of its 66 m. diameter. The stands have capacity for 6,000 spectators who will be welcome by the statue of Cayetano Ordoñez and his son Antonio situated on the entry of the monument. The Ronda Bullring is one of themost attractive monuments and this is why it is the third most visited in Andalusia. In the old neighbourhood of the city, after passing the Puente Nuevo, and take profit of the panoramic sight of the Tajo River, it is recommended walking through the Walls and Puerta Islamicas, the Arab Bath, the best conserved thermal place in Spain or the Palacio de Mondragon, a palace that many years ago was house of Muslim Monarchs.