Exploring Marbella’s ancient Past

The Costa del Sol, it seems, has always been popular with travellers; even in ancient times people couldn’t resist the lure of Marbella’s gorgeous golden sands. Naturally, they missed out on attractions like Selwo Adventure Park or Tivoli, but the old Romans knew a thing or two about resort management and tourism, so they had fun regardless.

Just four kilometres out to the east of Marbella ancient Romans built a magnificent villa at Rio Verde. If you happen to own an apartment or be staying in a holiday villa in San Pedro de Alcántara, you’ll need to pass the turn-off for Puerto Banus and cross the river. After that, take a right just prior to reaching the Puente Romano Hotel, from where the road to the Roman villa is signposted.

Marbella’s Roman Villa at Rio Verde

Dating back to the late first or early second century, the villa’s rooms are richly decorated with black and white mosaics which, rather unusually, show not the standard nymphs, gods and goddesses, dolphins or wine-swilling revellers but kitchen implements and cooking utensils. It’s fantastic evidence of rustic Roman home life; with a pair of shoes parked next to the door and hanging fowl and fish in the background, one is left with the feeling, a happy Roman homeowner has just returned from an exhausting day at the bathhouse and is now contemplating cooking his dinner.
 
Marbella’s Roman Bathhouse of Las Bovedas

Skip your customary trip to your resort spa and head to the Roman bathhouse, which is located just outside the town, practically on the beach. Dating back to the third century, this substantial octagonal structure features seven chambers, which the Romans would have used as a series of steam heated rooms, grouped around a central bath-part of the building. The under floor hypocaust system is still visible today. Bathers could float in the central pool and look up at the sunny skies above, for the ceiling had a skylight that was surrounded by a roof terrace. Perhaps our bathing friend the Roman enjoyed a substantial lunch or dinner after his exertions in the pool!

Food for Thought

If you are currently in the process of building your very own luxury holiday villa in Marbella, you might be tempted to have words with your builder for after your visit to Las Bovedas his plans for your swimming pool are likely to leave you feeling underwhelmed. On the other hand, seeing what Roman architects managed to do 2,000 years ago may well inspire you to be more audacious with your own home design.

Marbella Time Traveller

To gain access to any of Marbella’s ancient sites you will need to ask for permission and make a booking at least one day in advance with the Delegación de Cultura (tel. 952 825 035 – English spoken). You can also make a booking at Marbella’s and San Pedro’s local tourist offices.
 
The two hour tour is free and includes the gorgeous Visigothic Christian basilica of Vega del Mar at the bottom of the Avenida del Mediterráneo, which is the main road from San Pedro running to the coast. The basilica’s cemetery boasts no fewer than 200 ancient tombs; its graves are lined with marble to give their owners a luxurious send-off before they settled down to their everlasting sleep. Even in death, it seems, Roman occupied Marbella had to outshine neighbouring resorts.

If you’re still hungry for more historic adventures, head to Marbella’s Plaza de Toros, where you can go back in time even further, for here you’ll find four of the town’s finest museums covering prehistory right up to modern times.
Simply walk along the seafront towards Puerto Deportivo, a 2 km walk, or take a taxi. For visitors with an animal-loving disposition, the Museum of Bullfighting (Museo Taurino) is probably not the right thing, but there are also the excellent and very interesting Museo Etnográfico (folk museum), the Museo Arqueológico and the Museo Paleontológico. There is no entrance fee.

If the above has whet your appetite for your very own historic patch, consider buying a holiday home on Orange Square, located in Marbella’s ancient heart, the Old Town.