Torremolinos
Flag Seal
Location of Torremolinos
Torremolinos Location in Andalusia
Torremolinos Location in Spain
Coordinates: 36°37′18.43″N 4°30′0.98″W / 36.6217861°N 4.5002722°W / 36.6217861; -4.5002722Coordinates: 36°37′18.43″N 4°30′0.98″W / 36.6217861°N 4.5002722°W / 36.6217861; -4.5002722
Country	Spain
Comarca	Costa del Sol Occidental
Municipality	Málaga
Government
• Mayor	Pedro Fernández Montes
Area
• Total	20 km2 (8 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	68,181
• Density	3,400/km2 (8,800/sq mi)
Demonym	Torremolinenses
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	http://www.ayto-torremolinos.org/

Torremolinos is a municipality on the Costa del Sol of the Mediterranean, immediately to the west of the city of Málaga, in the province of Málaga in the autonomous region of Andalusia in southern Spain. A poor fishing village before the growth in tourism beginning in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was the first of the Costa del Sol resorts to develop.

It is very popular with British tourists and has a large British expatriate population. In the past the influx of younger British tourists has caused controversy.^[1] Areas of the town are dominated by high-rise development.

In addition to its tourism sector, Torremolinos is known locally for its vibrant nightlife, particularly its numerous bars and clubs catering to the LGBT community.

History[link]

Archaeological finds including human bones, tools and pottery prove that Torremolinos area was settled as early as the Neolithic Age. Some remnants are neanderthalians and dated 150 000 years-old by radiocarbone.^[2]

According to the Egyptian Greek geographer Ptolemy, the Phoenicians had founded here a colony named Saduce, but the Romans are the most likey to have founded the current town, as shown by findings of edifices and a necropolis (from whose size it has been deduced that the settlement had around 2,000 inhabitants^[3]). They also built the road joining Cadiz with Málaga, passing through Torremolinos.

With the Moorish conquest of Spain, were introduced the mills from which the town takes its name (meaning "Tower of the Mills"). However, at the time the population was reduced; the tower was built by the Nasrid rulers of Granada starting from 1300. After the fall of Granada, the town remained subject to North African pirate attacks which lasted from the 18th century; during the War of Spanish Succession, the town was attacked by an Anglo-Dutch flotilla under the British admiral George Rooke and almost entirely destroyed. A document of 1769 lists a population of 106 in the town.

The mills and the city were rebuilt in the early 20th century. The mill industry, however, started to decline in the 1920s. It was largely replaced by an increasing the tourist interest from 1928, particularly British visitors. Hotel Pez Espada opened in 1960. The first gay bar in Spain, Toni's Bar, was founded in Torremolinos in 1962. The Spanish regime reacted to the free lifestyle of the city with arrests of homosexuals and other repressions during the 1970s.

Torremolinos first appeared on the map of the Ensenada’s Marques in 1748. The name comes from the words Torre (Tower) and Molino (Mill). Water mills covered all this area of which only one survives (Molino de Inca) and one tower which forms part of a restaurant. Historians believe that moulded stones discovered at beaches and mountains in Torremolinos indicate the existence of the village 150000 years ago. Further evidence of its pre-history are nine skulls, some bones, clay pots, axe heads and arrows, ornaments of necklaces and bracelets, a ring and some animal bones discovered in the excavations of the caves: cueva del Tesoro (treasure cave), cueva tapada (cover cave), cueva del encanto (charm cave), cueva del tejón (badger cave). The study of these items places them at the Neolithic in the Quaternary period, around 5.000 years before Christ at the period when man learned to cultivate, the land. It is estimated that the skeletons found at the caves and at the cape of Torremolinos were 1.5 or 1.6 meters tall (4’9 ft. or 5’2 ft.).

Pre-Roman[link]

According to Ptolomy, Phoenicians built the city of Saduce next to Torremolinos. The Romans constructed a road to connect Gades (Cádiz) with Malaca (Málaga). In the 1990s a roman necropolis was discovered with 23 graves at the “San Luis build” at Cantabria’s square, which confirm the existence of village with 2000 years old.

Middle Ages[link]

Around 1300, the Muslim dynasty of the “Nazríes”, which governed Malaga between XIII and XV centuries, built the defensive tower that can be seen at the end of San Miguel Street. The tower is 12 meters (39’37 ft.) tall and was built with earth. It is composed of two floors and watch windows to the sea and a terrace.

Before French revolution[link]

After the Christian conquered the kingdom of Granada, Torremolinos was attacked by pirates until the XVIII century.

Later, the Arabian piracies were changed by the British piracy. During the War of Spanish succession, an Anglo-Dutch fleet, commanded by the British Admiral George Rooke, looted and burned the houses and mills and destroyed all of Torremolinos. A census of 1769 shows a population of 106 people.

Modern age[link]

Torremolinos beach.

During the first half of the nineteenth century the town was rebuilt and by 1849 there were 14 mills, a fuller mill Kraft paper and 785 habitants. With the demise of the mill, Torremolinos became a small fishing village until the end of the 1950s when it became one of the first tourist centre in Costa del Sol. In the 50s many celebrities visited Torremolinos such as Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Orson Wells, Frank Sinatra

In 1959 Pez Espada hotel were opened, the first luxury hotel along the coast. In the following years, new hotels, nightclubs and others tourist establishments changed the face of the town and its beaches. By the year 1965, Torremolinos had become consolidated as an alternative tourist destination.

In popular culture[link]

• Part of James A. Michener's 1971 novel The Drifters takes place in Torremolinos.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus had a sketch called "Travel Agent", which aired November 16, 1972, that makes a reference to Torremolinos in the context of visiting British package tourists.
• The Belgian band Sttellla wrote a song about Torremolinos (simply called "Torremolinos"), which is their biggest hit to date.
• Terrormolinos (a play on Torremolinos) is a text adventure game for various 1980s computer platforms.
• The end of the movie Torremolinos 73 was filmed in Torremolinos. Torremolinos 73 in the movie means the name of an adult movie shot in Torremolinos in 1973.
• The Soft Cell song "Memorabilia" mentions Torremolinos.

Famous residents[link]

• Alvin Karpis (1907–1979), Depression-era outlaw, lived his last years in Torremolinos after being released from jail by US authorities.
• Nina Zhivanevskaya, bronze medal winner for Spain in 100 metre backstroke at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
• Brendan Sheerin, presenter (tour guide) on the British television reality show, Coach Trip.^[4]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Torremolinos

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