Marbella is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the region of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the region; it is also the head of the judicial district that bears its name.Marbella is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, between Málaga and the Gibraltar Strait, in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca. The municipality covers an area of 117 km² crossed by highways on the coast, which are its main entrances.In 2011 the population of the city was 138,662 inhabitants,[1] making it the second most populous municipality in the province of Málaga and the eighth in Andalusia. It is one of the most important tourist cities of the Costa del Sol and throughout most of the year is an international tourist attraction, due mainly to its climate and tourist infrastructure. The city also has a significant archaeological heritage, many museums and performance spaces, and a cultural calendar with events ranging from reggae concerts to opera performances.The city is especially popular with tourists from Northern Europe (including the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany) and also Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Marbella is particularly noted for the presence of aristocrats, celebrities and wealthy people; it is a major destination for luxury cruise ships and yachts which dock in its harbour.The area is popular with golfers and boaters, and there are many private estates and luxury hotels in the vicinity, including the Marbella Club Hotel. Marbella hosts a WTA tennis tournament on red clay, the Andalucia Tennis Experience.Other cities on the coast are accessible by bus from Marbella, including Málaga, Estepona, Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Gibraltar. The area is also served by the A7 motorway; the closest airport is Málaga-Costa Del Sol.
Geography
The Marbella municipality occupies a strip of land that extends along forty-four kilometres of coastline of the Penibético region, sheltered by the slopes of the coastal mountain range, which includes the Bermeja, Palmitera, Royal, White and Alpujata sub-ranges. Due to the proximity of the mountains to the coast, the city has a large gap between its north and south sides, thus providing views of the sea and mountain vistas from almost every part of the city. The coastline is heavily urbanised; most of the land not built up with golf courses has been developed with small residential areas.Marbella is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Istán and Ojén, on the northwest by Benahavís, on the west by Estepona and on the northeast by Mijas. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south.
Topography
There are five geomorphological units: the Sierra Blanca, the Sierra Blanca piedmont (foothills), the lower hill country, the plains and the coastal dunes. The Sierra Blanca is most centrally located in the province, looming over the old village. This mountain has three peaks: La Concha, located further west at 1,215 m above sea level, Juanar Cross, located eastward (within the municipality of Ojen) at 1,178 m above sea level, and the highest, Mount Lastonar, located between the two at 1,270 metres. Marbella’s topography is characterised by extensive coastal plains formed from eroded mountains. After the plain lies an area of higher elevations of between 100 and 400 m, occupied by low hills, behind which rise the foothills and steeper slopes of the mountains. The coast is generally low and sandy beaches that are more extensive further east, between the fishing port and the Cabopino. Despite the intense urbanisation of the coast, it still retains a natural area of dunes at the eastern end of town, the Artola Dunes (Dunas de Artola).
Climate
Marbella is protected on its northern side by the coastal mountains of the Cordillera Penibética and so enjoys a microclimate with an average annual temperature of 18°C. The highest peaks of the mountains are occasionally covered with snow, which usually melts in a day or two. Average rainfall is 628 l/m while hours of sunshine average 2,900 annually.
Flora and fauna
Despite the pressure of urbanisation, remnants of the land in its natural state are still preserved in the mountains, where there are chestnut and cherry trees, reforested firs, Aleppo, Monterrey and maritime pines; pinyons, and ferns. The fauna is represented by golden eagles, Bonelli’s eagles, short-toed eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, genet cats, badgers, wild goats, deer, martens, foxes and rabbits.The coast has the Natural Monument site of the Dunas de Artola, one of the few protected natural beaches of the Costa del Sol, which contains marram grass, sea thistle, sea daffodils and shrubs such as caudate juniper. A highlight of the marine ecosystem of the sea around Marbella is the Posidonia oceanica, a plant endemic to the Mediterranean, found in the Cabopino area
Landmarks and places of interest
Old Town (Casco Antiguo)
The old town of Marbella includes the ancient city walls and the two historical suburbs of the city, the Barrio Alto, which extends north, and the Barrio Nuevo, located to the east. The ancient walled city retains nearly the same layout as in the sixteenth century. Here is the Plaza de los Naranjos, an example of Castilian Renaissance design, its plan laid out after the Christian reconquest in the heart of Old Town. Around the square are arranged three remarkable buildings: the town hall, built in 1568 by the Catholic Monarchs in Renaissance style, the Mayor’s house, which combines Gothic and Renaissance elements in its façade, with a roof of Mudejar style and fresco murals inside, and the Chapel of Santiago, the oldest religious building in the city, built earlier than the square and not aligned with it, believed to date from the 15th century. Other buildings of interest in the centre are the Church of Santa María de la Encarnación, built in the Baroque style starting in 1618, the Casa del Roque, and the remains of the Arabic castle and defensive walls; also in the Renaissance style are the Capilla de San Juan de Dios (Chapel of St. John of God), the Hospital Real de la Misericordia (Royal Hospital of Mercy) and the Hospital Bazán which now houses the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engravings.
Ermita del Santo Cristo
One of the highlights of the Barrio Alto is the Ermita del Santo Cristo de la Vera Cruz (Hermitage of the Holy Christ of the True Cross), built in the fifteenth century and enlarged in the eighteenth century, which consists of a square tower with a roof covered by glazed ceramic tiles. The Barrio Alto is also known as the San Francisco neighborhood, after a Franciscan convent formerly located there. The so-called Nuevo Barrio (New Town), separated from the walled city by the Arroyo de la Represa, has no monumental buildings but retains its original layout and much of its character in the simple whitewashed houses with their tiled roofs and exposed wooden beams, orchards and small corrals.
Constitution Park
Between the old town and the sea in the historic area known as Eixample, there is a small botanical garden on Paseo de la Alameda, and a garden with fountains and a collection of ten sculptures by Salvador Dali on the Avenida del Mar, which connects the old town with the beach. To the west of this road, passing the Faro de Marbella, is Constitution Park, which houses the auditorium of the same name and the Skol Apartments, designed in the Modernist style by the Spanish architect Manuel Jaén Albaitero.
The Golden Mile of Nueva Andalucia
The Golden Mile is actually a stretch of four miles between Marbella and Puerto Banús, on which are located some of the most luxurious residences in Marbella, such as the Palace of King Fahd, as well as some landmark hotels, among them the Melia Don Pepe, the Hotel Marbella Club and the Puente Romano Hotel.Nueva Andalucía is an area that was developed during the tourism boom of the 1960, where may be found the ruins of the Roman villa by the Rio Verde, and El Ángel, where the land of the old forge works was converted to an agricultural colony, and the Botanical Gardens of El Ángel with gardens of three different styles, dating from the eighth century.
San Pedro de Alcántara
At the heart of San Pedro de Alcántara are two industrial buildings of the 19th century: the Trapiche de Guadaiza and the sugar mill, which now houses the Ingenio Cultural Center. The 19th-century heritage of San Pedro is also represented by two buildings of colonial style, the parish Church and the Villa of San Luis, residence of the Marqués del Duero. Next to San Pedro, near the mouth of the river Guadalmina, are some of the most important archaeological sites in Marbella: the early Christian Basílica de Vega del Mar, the vaulted Roman baths of Las Bóvedas (the Domes) and the eponymous watch tower of Torre de Las Bóvedas. The important archaeological site of Cerro Colorado is located near Benahavis; it features a complex chronological sequence that begins in the 4th century BC within a Mastieno (ancient Iberian ethnicity of the Tartessian confederation) area, then a town identified as Punic and finally a Roman settlement. A series of domestic structures that correspond to the different stages of occupation recorded in the sequence of the site characterise the settlement as being fortified because it is walled. A hoard of three pots filled with silver coins of mostly Hispano-Carthaginian origin, and numerous pieces of precious metalwork, along with clippings and silver ingots, all dating from the 3rd century BC were found here.
District of Las Chapas
In the eastern part of the municipality in the district of Las Chapas is the site of Rio Real, situated on a promontory near the mouth of the river of the same name. This is a settlement which may be traced to the 8th century BC and probably is Phoenician since it is close to some old iron mines. Plates, carinated bowls, lamps and other ceramics of Phoenician and indigenous Iberian types have been found, as well as a few Greek examples. There are two ancient watchtowers, There are two ancient watchtowers, the Torre Río Real (Royal River Tower) and the Torre Ladrones (Tower of Thieves). Among the notable tourist attractions are the residential complex Ciudad Residencial Tiempo Libre (Residential Leisure City),[26] an architectural ensemble of the Modernist movement, which has been a registered property of Bien de Interés Cultural (Heritage of Cultural Interest) since 2006, and the former Hilton Hotel Marbella, now the Don Carlos Hotel, designed by architect Melvin Villarroel in the same style as the previous building.
Beaches
The beach in Marbella
The 27 km of coastline within the limits of Marbella is divided into twenty-four beaches with different features, however, due to expansion of the municipality, they are all now semi-urban. They generally have moderate surf, golden or dark sand ranging through fine, medium or coarse in texture, and some gravel. The occupancy rate is usually high to midrange, especially during the summer months, when tourist arrivals are highest. Amongst the various notable beaches are Artola beach, situated in the protected area of the Dunas de Artola, and Cabopino, one of the few nudist beaches in Marbella, near the port of Cabopino. The beaches of Venus and La Fontanilla are centrally located and very poular, and those of Puerto Banús and San Pedro Alcántara have been awarded the blue flag of the Foundation for Environmental Education for compliance with its standards of water quality, safety, general services and environmental management.
Politics and administration
Political administration of the municipal government is run by the Ayuntamiento (City Hall), whose members are elected every four years. The electoral roll is composed of all residents registered in Marbella who are over age 18 and a citizen of Spain or one of the other member states of the European Union. The Law on the General Election sets the number of councilors elected according to the population of the municipality; the Municipal Corporation of Marbella consists of 27 councilors.
From the first democratic elections after the adoption of the 1978 Spanish Constitution in 1979, and until 1991, all the mayors of Marbella were members of the El Partido Socialista Obrero Español (The Spanish Socialist Workers Party, or PSOE). Between 1991 and 2006 Marbella was governed by the neo-conservative Grupo Independiente Liberal (Independent Liberal Group, or GIL), with Jesús Gil y Gil as its head, who after his arrival in office stayed in power by controversial methods. His style of government—characterised by “town planning on demand” for developers, market speculation, and predatory incursions on the environment,— led to accusations of corruption. In 1999 he was convicted of crimes of embezzlement of public funds and falsifying public documents.
The Malaya Case
City Hall in Plaza de los Naranjos
After Jesús Gil, the mayoralty was occupied by Julián Muñoz, who was expelled from office by a vote of no confidence after he fired Juan Antonio Roca, a planning consultant. Julián Muñoz is involved in about a hundred pending court cases. In 2003, after the censure motion that ousted Julián Muñoz, the mayoral chair was won by Marisol Yague, who was prosecuted in 2006 for corruption and imprisoned, but later released on bail. That year, after other members of the city council were detained under corruption allegations, the Spanish Senate unanimously approved the report of the General Commission of Autonomous Communities and decreed the dissolution of the Marbella city councill, perhaps the most unusual such action to ever occur in modern Spain. The investigation, known as the Malaya case, has resulted in the detention of twenty-four persons and the seizure of goods worth 2,400 million euros.[27] Today the term “Marbellan urbanism” is synonymous with corruption in government and its legacy of environmental destruction and overcrowding, as shown by the figure of 30,000 illegal homes built in the town, and the lack of significant educational and health infrastructure.Since 2007, and for the first time in the history of Marbellan politics, City Hall is governed by the Popular Party.The design of the coat of arms and the flag used by Marbella city hall has been the subject of controversy. According to some sources, GIL changed these symbols without any consensus or heraldic rigor, nor had they been vetted by the Junta de Andalucía, so that different factions claim the rehabilitation of the shield granted by the Catholic Monarchs to the city in 1493 and official recognition of a flag designed in accordance with prevailing standards of Vexillology.Марбе́лья (исп. Marbella) — город и муниципалитет в Испании, входит в провинцию Малага, в составе автономного сообщества Андалусия. Муниципалитет находится в составе района (комарки) Коста-дель-Соль-Оксиденталь. Занимает площадь 117 км². Население — 136 322 человека (на 2010 год). Расстояние до административного центра провинции — 58 км. Покровителем города считается святой Бернабе. Знаменитый курорт на средиземноморском побережье Испании Коста-дель-Соль. В 4 километрах от Марбельи находится фешенебельный порт Пуэрто-Банус.
Название города имеет этимологию доримского периода, её название происходит от соединения слова MA + AR = MAR, что означает «много воды», и слова BILA/BILLA, означающее «гора».
Популярный курорт с конца 1950-х годов XX века, где постоянно проживает большое количество иностранцев (немцев, англичан, выходцев из бывшего СССР). В 1990-е годы городом управлял мэр Хесус Хиль, владелец клуба «Атлетико» (Мадрид), замешанный во многих коррупционных скандалах. Репутацию Марбельи подмочили также осевшие здесь богатые иностранцы, бежавшие от правосудия в своих странах и пользовавшиеся тем, что Испания не участвовала в договорах об экстрадиции преступников. С 1984 по 2007 годы в Марбелье проживал крупный торговец оружием Монзер Аль-Кассар, известный также как «Принц Марбельи».
Достопримечательности
Марбелья — красивый и богатый курортный город с живописным приморским бульваром и хорошим обшественным пляжем. Старый город великолепно отреставрирован. Его центр образует Апельсиновая площадь, где расположена мэрия города в окружении белоснежных переулков.
Другие достопримечательности:
Арабская крепостная стена
Аллея Avenida del Mar со скульптурами Сальвадора Дали
Музей бонсаи
Музей гравюры
Старинная церковь Iglesia de la Encarnación
Крокодиловый парк (Cocodrilo Park)
Аквапарк
Марбелья – город и муниципалитет на юге Испании, в провинции Малага. Входит в состав автономного сообщества Андалусия и комарки Коста дель Соль Оксиденталь. Город расположен на берегу Средиземного моря между Малагой и Гибралтарским проливом в предгорьях массива Сьерра Бланка. По данным на 2011 год, в Марбелье проживало более 138 тыс. человек, среди которых много иммигрантов. Защищенный с севера цепью гор, город славится своим уникальным микроклиматом. Среднегодовая температура здесь – 18оС, солнечных дней в году – 320. Марбелья с ее всевозможными развлечениями, фешенебельными отелями, виллами и расположенной неподалеку яхтенной гаванью Пуэрто Банус притягивает богатых и знаменитых иностранцев, а также криминальных авторитетов со всего мира.
Marbella es una ciudad y municipio del sur de España, perteneciente a la provincia de Málaga, en la comunidad autónoma de Andalucía. Está integrada en la comarca de la Costa del Sol Occidental y es la sede de la mancomunidad de municipios homónima y la cabeza del partido judicial que lleva su nombre.
Marbella está situada a orillas del Mediterráneo, entre Málaga y el estrecho de Gibraltar, y en la falda de la Sierra Blanca. Su término municipal ocupa una superficie de 117 km², atravesados por la autovía y la autopista de peaje llamadas del Mediterráneo, principales accesos al municipio.Con 136.322 habitantes según el censo de 2010, es el segundo municipio más poblado de la provincia y el octavo de Andalucía. Además, es una de las ciudades turísticas más importantes de la Costa del Sol y durante la mayor parte del año es centro de atracción del turismo internacional gracias principalmente a su clima y su infraestructura turística. Aunque menos conocido, la ciudad también cuenta con un significativo patrimonio arqueológico y con varios museos y espacios escénicos, así como un calendario cultural con eventos que van desde el reggae, hasta la ópera.Protagonista en la temprana revolución industrial española en el siglo XIX, Marbella ha experimentado un crecimiento continuo a lo largo del siglo XX y comienzos del siglo XXI, desarrollando una economía basada en la oferta turística destinada a visitantes y residentes temporales de medio y alto poder adquisitivo.
Monumentos y lugares de interés
Casco antiguo
El casco antiguo de Marbella abarca el antiguo recinto amurallado y los dos arrabales históricos de la ciudad: el Barrio Alto, que se extiende hacia el norte, y el Barrio Nuevo, situado al este. El antiguo recinto amurallado conserva la misma planta aproximadamente que en el siglo XVI. Aquí se encuentra la Plaza de los Naranjos, ejemplo del urbanismo castellano del renacimiento, trazada tras la conquista cristiana, y que constituye el centro neurálgico del casco antiguo. Alrededor de la plaza se disponen tres edificios notables: la casa consistorial, erigida por los Reyes Católicos; la casa del Corregidor, de fachada gótico-mudéjar y renacentista; y la Ermita de Santiago, el templo religioso más antiguo de la ciudad, anterior a la plaza, ya que no está alineado con ella, por lo que se cree que data del siglo XV. Otros edificios interesantes del centro son la Iglesia de Santa María de la Encarnación, de estilo barroco, iniciada en 1618, la Casa del Roque y los restos del castillo y la muralla defensiva árabe, así como la Capilla de San Juan de Dios, el Hospital Real de la Misericordia y el antiguo Hospital Bazán, todas ellas de estilo renacentista.
Iglesia de San Pedro de Alcántara.
En el Barrio Alto destaca la Ermita del Santo Cristo de la Vera Cruz, construida en el siglo XV y ampliada en el siglo XVIII, de la que destaca la torre cuadrada con un tejado cubierto por cerámica vidriada. Este barrio también se conoce como barrio de San Francisco por un convento franciscano ya desaparecido. El Barrio Nuevo, separado del recinto amurallado por el Arroyo de la Represa, carece de edificaciones monumentales pero conserva su trazado original y buena parte de sus sencillas casas de cal, teja y vigas de madera, con huerto y un pequeño corral.
Ensanche histórico
Entre el casco antiguo y el mar, en la zona conocida como ensanche histórico, se sitúan el Paseo de la Alameda, donde se encuentra un pequeño jardín botánico, y la Avenida del Mar, una vía ajardinada con fuentes y una colección de diez esculturas de Salvador Dalí, que comunica el casco antiguo con la playa. Hacia el oeste de esta vía, pasando el Faro de Marbella, se encuentra el Parque de la Constitución, que alberga al auditorio del mismo nombre, y los Apartamentos Skol.
La Milla de Oro y Nueva Andalucía
En la Milla de Oro, es decir, en los cuatro kilómetros aproximados que separan el núcleo urbano de Marbella de Puerto Banús, se localizan algunas de las residencias más lujosas de Marbella, como el Palacio del Rey Fahd, así como algunos de los hoteles más emblemáticos, como son el Meliá Don Pepe, el Hotel Marbella Club y el Hotel Puente Romano.Nueva Andalucía es una zona iniciada con el boom turístico, en la que destacan los restos de la villa romana de Río Verde y la Colonia de El Ángel, antigua ferrería convertida en colonia agrícola, donde se encuentra el Jardín Botánico El Ángel, con tres estilos de jardín diferentes.
San Pedro Alcántara
En el núcleo de San Pedro Alcántara destacan dos construcciones industriales del siglo XIX: el Trapiche de Guadaiza y el Ingenio Azucarero, que en la actualidad alberga el Centro Cultural el Ingenio. El patrimonio decimonónico de San Pedro lo completan dos edificios de estilo colonial: la Iglesia y la Villa de San Luis, residencia del Marqués del Duero.Junto a San Pedro, en las inmediaciones de la desembocadura del río Guadalmina, se encuentran algunos de los más importantes conjuntos arqueológicos de Marbella: la Basílica paleocristiana de Vega del Mar, las termas romanas de Las Bóvedas y la torre homónima. También destaca el yacimiento de Cerro Colorao, situado junto al término de Benahavís.
Distrito de Las Chapas
En la zona oriental del municipio, en el distrito de Las Chapas destaca el yacimiento de Río Real, situado en un promontorio cerca de la desembocadura del río que le da nombre. Se trata de un asentamiento que posiblemente se remonte al siglo VIII a. C. y seguramente se trate de un emplazamiento fenicio, dado que se encuentra cercano a unas antiguas minas de hierro. Se han encontrado platos, cuencos carenados, lucernas y cerámica de tipo fenicio y otras indígenas y griegas. También se localizan aquí otras dos torres almenaras: la Torre Río Real y la Torre Ladrones. Entre los establecimientos turísticos es notable la Ciudad Residencial Tiempo Libre, conjunto arquitectónico del movimiento moderno inscrito Bien de Interés Cultural desde 2006, y el antiguo Hotel Marbella Hilton, en la actualidad Hotel Don Carlos, obra del arquitecto Melvin Villarroel del mismo estilo que el anterior.
Playa de Marbella.
Los 27 km de litoral del término de Marbella se dividen en 24 playas de diferentes características, aunque, debido a la expansión urbanística del municipio, todas son playas urbanas o semiurbanas. En general se trata de playas de oleaje moderado con arena dorada u oscura de grano fino, medio o grueso, siendo posible también encontrar alguna de grava. El grado de ocupación suele ser alto o medio, especialmente durante los meses de verano, cuando se concentra la llegada de turistas. Entre ellas, pueden citarse la playa de Artola o Cabopino, situada en la zona protegida de las Dunas de Artola, junto al puerto de Cabopino, por ser una de las pocas playas nudistas de Marbella; las de Venus y La Fontanilla, céntricas y muy frecuentadas; y las de Puerto Banús y San Pedro Alcántara, que cuentan con bandera azul.
Geografía
El término municipal marbellí ocupa una franja que se extiende a lo largo de 27 kilómetros de costa, refugiada por las laderas del Cordón Montañoso Litoral penibético que forman las sierras Bermeja, Palmitera, Real, Blanca y Alpujata. Debido a la proximidad de la sierra con la costa, la ciudad presenta un gran desnivel entre las partes norte y sur, propiciando así vistas del mar y la montaña desde casi todos los puntos de la ciudad. El litoral está fuertemente urbanizado. La mayor parte del suelo no edificado corresponde a campos de golf o son pequeñas zonas residuales.
Flora y fauna
A pesar de la presión urbanística aún se conservan reductos naturales en la sierra, donde se encuentran castaños, cerezos, helechos, pinsapos de repoblación, pinos carrascos, piñoneros, insignes y resineros. La fauna está representada por águilas reales, perdiceras, culebreras, azores, halcones peregrinos, buitres leonados, ginetas, tejones, cabras montesas, corzos, garduñas, zorros y conejos.En la costa se encuentra el Monumento Natural de las Dunas de Artola, uno de los pocos espacios naturales protegidos en primera línea de playa de la Costa del Sol, que contiene ejemplares de barrón o cardo marítimo, narciso de mar y arbustos como la sabina caudada. Del ecosistema submarino de las aguas marbellíes destaca la Posidonia oceanica, planta endémica del Mediterráneo presente en la zona de Cabopino
