History of Benalmádena
Benalmádena has a rich history dating back at least 21,000 years, when the first inhabitants occupied the so-called Cueva del Toro (Bull Cave), from the Lower Palaeolithic, and since then the area has been continuously inhabited.
The lands that are now Benalmádena have seen different peoples and civilisations settle here. In the Neolithic age, around 5,000 years ago, the caves of La Serrezuela were occupied, and later an indigenous settlement on Cerro de la Eramaintained contacted Phoenician colonists from the eastern Mediterranean.
In Antiquity, the Romans settled in Benalmádena and exploited its natural resources through two villas located at Torremuelle and in the coastal area between Avenida Las Palmeras and Federico García Lorca.
During al-Ándalus in the Middle Ages, the origins of Benalmádena Pueblo emerged, with the remains of a fortress and watchtowers that defended the coast from attacks coming from the sea. Part of the industrial legacy of Arroyo de la Miel is also preserved: at the end of the 18th century it housed a paper mill.
Prehistory and recent prehistory
Benalmádena’s prehistoric heritage is very rich and is concentrated mainly in caves. Cueva del Toro, located on Mount Calamorro, was discovered in 1969 and studied from 1971 onwards, when cave paintings were found, including a headless bovid. It has traditionally been dated to the Solutrean (around 21,000 years ago), although recent studies could place part of its occupation at the end of the Middle Palaeolithic age, which would imply possible Neanderthal occupation. The cave served as a meeting place for nomadic communities, encouraged by its proximity to the coast and resources such as shells.
In the Neolithic, around 5,000 years ago, various caves in La Serrezuela were used, such as Cueva de los Botijos and Cueva de la Zorrera. The grave goods found (especially human remains and ceramics at Botijos) indicate a funerary and ritual use.
The first known settlement in Arroyo de la Miel is Cerro de la Era, located 600 metres from the sea. About 2,900 years ago, in the final stage of the Copper Age, it was inhabited by an indigenous group descended from megalithic builders. Coexistence with the first Phoenicians to arrive in the area is documented here, which led the indigenous people to adopt elements of their culture: writing, the potter’s wheel, iron metallurgy, fish preservation, and the cultivation and production of wine.
Roman Benalmádena
After Rome’s victory over Carthage in the Second Punic War, Hispania became part of the Roman sphere from the 2nd century BC. In Benalmádena, the Roman legacy is reflected in two coastal villas: Benalroma and Villa Mauritana.
The Villa of Benalroma, occupied between the 1st and 6th centuries AD, was a dispersed settlement with a luxurious pars urbana, featuring a euripus: a large garden with a cascading fountain, one of the few examples of this type on the Iberian Peninsula. The structure channelled water through basins and canals down to the beach, creating small waterfalls. At the beginning of the 21st century, the villa’s baths were also located, in use between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, where a geometric mosaic was found on a white background with Solomon’s knots in black, orange, and red tesserae.
At the Los Molinillos site, the pars fructuaria of Benalroma was identified, —its production area. During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD it functioned as an oil factory, and between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD it was transformed into a fish-salting plant.
Villa Mauritana or Villa of Torremuelle was discovered in the mid-20th century during the construction of the N-340. Large Roman structures and a geometric mosaic of white, black, and red tesserae, dated to the 3rd century AD, were found and would have formed part of its residential area. However, these structures were lost due to roadworks and later buildings.
It was not until 2004, when what appears to correspond to the industrial part of this villa was located, that an entire industrial complex of fish sauces and preserves was discovered. It consisted of 19 salting vats located in the Lagar stream, in use during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, with a small inlet that must have served as a landing place, perhaps related to transporting products made at the villa, such as garum and other fishing derivatives.
Muslim Period
During the Muslim period, the place name Benalmádena emerged, derived from the Arabic Ibn-al-Madena, “Sons of the Mines”, referring to iron deposits exploited since pre-Roman times. In this period the population began to settle around what is now Benalmádena Pueblo, although historical study is difficult due to the scarcity of archaeological data.
The fortification of Benalmádena Pueblo was probably carried out in the Almohad period, in the mid-12th century, taking advantage of its strategic position controlling the coast and the routes to Mijas and Málaga. It was a town consisting of a fortress and a walled suburb with battlements and arrow slits. Later, the Nasrid monarchs developed a coastal defensive system based on watchtowers, two of which of Muslim origin are preserved in Benalmádena: Torre Quebrada and Torre Bermeja.
In this context, one of the most notable figures linked to Benalmádena was born in 1197: Ibn al-Baytar, “the son of the veterinarian”, considered a pioneer of botany for applying direct observation as a scientific method to study the medicinal properties of plants. Although there is no absolute certainty about his birthplace, it is known that he spent his childhood in Benalmádena. After travelling extensively through the East, he became chief herbalist to the Sultan of Egypt and continued making scientific expeditions until his death in Damascus in the mid-13th century.
Christian Period: 15th–17th Centuries
The reconquest of Benalmádena by Christian troops was marked by conflict and rebuilding. In 1485, the forces of Ferdinand the Catholic destroyed the alcazaba, leaving the area unsafe and uninhabitable and causing part of the population to take refuge in Málaga.
In 1491, the Catholic Monarchs commissioned the notary Alonso Palmero to repopulate Benalmádena with 30 Christian families, granting him the post of mayor on the condition that he defend the town and repair the fortress. However, the resettlement failed mainly due to coastal insecurity, with frequent attacks by Barbary pirates. To improve defences, the monarchs restored the old Nasrid towers of Torre Bermeja and Torre Quebrada and built new ones, such as Torre del Muelle, erected in the early 16th century to warn of enemy incursions.
In the mid-16th century, pirate attacks decreased and the population was able to settle, beginning a prosperous period based on an agrarian economy, especially raisin production. During the 17th century, despite epidemics, droughts, and natural disasters, Benalmádena remained inhabited and continued to focus on agriculture.
18th and 19th Centuries: The San Carlos Paper Complex
At the end of the 18th century, the enlightened economic policies of Charles III encouraged the arrival of Félix Solesio, a Genoese expert papermaker who would transform the economic and social life of Benalmádena. He arrived in Málaga at the request of the Gálvez family, promoters of industry in the province and founders of the Royal Playing Card Factory of Macharaviaya, who sought to improve paper production for their decks.
Solesio needed a place with abundant water to install the paper hammers, and he found it in Arroyo de la Miel, where there was an important spring known as “el Cao”. In 1784 he purchased the Arroyo de la Miel farmstead and built the San Carlos Paper Complex, equipped with six hammers—four for white paper and two for brown wrapping paper—along with an aqueduct to channel water, housing for workers, and farmland.
Despite his ambitious project and nearly two decades of effort, Solesio could not sustain the complex due to economic difficulties stemming from commercial problems, which ultimately forced him to abandon the paper business.
20th Century: Benalmadena's Renaissance Through Tourism
In the 1950s, the tourist potential of the Costa del Sol began to be recognised, and some investors acquired land to build the first hotels. Between the late 1950s and early 1960s, hotels such as the Riviera, Siroco, Tritón, and Alay were built, positioning Benalmádena in national and international tourism.
The municipality chose to improve its infrastructure, notably by creating a marina to strengthen its historic relationship with the sea. Puerto Marina was inaugurated in 1982 and today is one of the most attractive settings for maritime sports and leisure on the Costa del Sol.
In the early 1970s, Benalmádena was declared a “Town of Tourist Interest” and in May 1972 opened the Tívoli World Amusement park, designed by the Danish Olsen family with institutional support. The 60,000 m² park featured rides, theatres, restaurants, gardens with fountains, an artificial lake, and streams. Although it was expected to attract mainly foreign tourism, the park became a landmark destination for national and local tourism, noted for its open-air shows with capacity for 2,200 people. Major artists performed at Tívoli, including Joséphine Baker, James Brown, Julio Iglesias, Miguel Bosé, Joan Manuel Serrat, Rocío Jurado, Isabel Pantoja, Montserrat Caballé, Lola Flores, Mecano, and Alejandro Sanz, establishing the park as the leading concert promoter on the Costa del Sol.
During these years, Arroyo de la Miel developed its first modern urban infrastructure, while Benalmádena Pueblo saw the construction of the new Town Hall, the Municipal Archaeological Museum, and the installation in Plaza de España of the statue of the “Girl of Benalmádena”, by Jaime Pimentel. This statue was a prize of the newly created Benalmádena International Auteur Film Week (SICAB), which quickly became one of Europe’s leading film festivals.
The Story of a Discovery
In 1961, a 1.50- metre white marble sculpture representing Dionysus was found on Torrequebrada beach and was initially believed to be Roman. That same year, the seabed at the discovery site was explored and it was confirmed that it came from a ship of contemporary era. Years later, the Benalmádena diving group Los Delfines recovered another 1.50 -metre statue, this time of Diana, very similar in style, material, and composition to the Dionysus, confirming that both were 19th-century neoclassical works made in the same workshop.
In 1982, more marble sculptures appeared near the wreck: an Apollo and the bust of a young woman. The investigation concluded when the vessel was identified as the English brig-barque Isabella, which sank in 1855 during a storm while travelling from Genoa to Calcutta with a cargo of sculptures intended to decorate a villa.