San Pedro Alcántara ( St. Peter of Alcántara) (pop: approx 35,500) is a town in the municipality of

Marbella 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 Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

, in

Andalucía Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is a tourist destination of the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (; literally "Coast of the Sun") is a region in the south of Spain in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of ...

Geography

It is situated in the fertile plain of the same name, Vega de San Pedro Alcántara, a broad stretch of coastal lowland surrounded in a semicircle by rugged hills. On the East the Sierra Blanca of

, dominated by its highest peak Pico del Astonar (1.270 m.) better known locally as "La Concha" (The Shell) because of its resemblance to a fluted sea shell when viewed from the west. To the North, there is the Sierra del Real or El Real del Duque, the

Sierra de las Nieves Sierra de las Nieves is a mountain range of the Penibaetic System in Málaga Province, Andalusia, Spain with its highest point being La Torrecilla (1,919 m). Sierra de las Nieves is also the name of an administrative area, the '' comarca''. T ...

and those of

Tolox Tolox is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality has a population of 2,317 (2006). It is situated in the centre of the Sierra de las Nieves Nature Park at ...

, on the West of the town the Monte Mayor and, finally, closing the mountain line the

Sierra Bermeja Sierra Bermeja is a mountain range in southwestern Puerto Rico. It forms the southern boundary of the Lajas Valley and it is bordered by La Parguera in the Caribbean Sea coast. It extends from the municipality of Cabo Rojo in the west to Lajas ...

Etymology

Named by the marquis of the Duero in 1860 after the franciscan friar

Peter of Alcántara Peter of Alcántara, OFM (born Peter Garavita; ; 1499 – October 18, 1562) was a Spanish Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan friar who was canonized in 1669. Biography Peter was born at Alcántara, Cáceres (province), Province of Cáceres, Extr ...

History

During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

times, the settlers in this

Hispania Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

area were referred to the Roman

mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...

of Cilniana. The remains of the 2nd century Las Bóvedas thermae are found on the coastline. The

early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...

Vega del Mar basílica dates from the 4th century. 16th century drawings by Anton van den Wyngaerde commissioned by Filip II show the thermae, next to which the Las Bovedas

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

was built. This was part of the extensive watchtower and fort system along the Spanish coast which was used to defend the population from the

barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

. The threat of pirate raids explain why the villages grew inland ( Gaucin,

Ojén Ojén (population 5.045) is a town and municipality that sits in the mountains behind Marbella in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. Nearby cities include Mijas to the east, Marbella to the south, Istán to the west, and ...

or Benahavis) rather than on the coast unless they had a militar garrison and a solid fortress such as

, Velez Málaga or

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

. The current town of San Pedro de Alcántara was founded in 1860 by the charismatic 19th century politician and militar marquis of the Duero, Manuel Gutiérrez de la Concha e Irigoyen as a rural colony. It was the largest and most modern privately owned Spanish agricultural colony of its time. It spread from San Pedro de Alcantara to Cancelada (Estepona), village founded by the marquis too. The main crop was

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

, grown with the expertise of Cuban engineer Álvaro Reynoso, as the marqui's brother was Captain General of Cuba. It made use of new built damms,

acequia An acequia () or (, also known as síquia , all from ) is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Acequias are found in parts of Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and what i ...

s, sugar cane mill ( ingenio), electric

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

and other farming machinery such as imported

reaper A reaper is a farm implement that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass, especially wheat. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used ...

s or

threshing machine A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of agricultural machinery, farm equipment that separates grain seed from the plant stem, stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed ...

s. It was contemporary to the Larios family sugar production in

Torre del Mar Torre del Mar is a locality on the southern coast of Spain, in the municipality of Vélez-Málaga, Axarquía, located in the province of Málaga. It is a popular summer tourist resort for Spanish people. History A large 6th- to 8th-century necr ...

and

Nerja Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about east of ...

. In 1881

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

was introduced. The fields requested skilled and experienced farmers, and due to the good living conditions offered to the workers, many converged to the colony from the cities of Granada, Almería, Valencia and Murcia. After the death of the marquis the colony was sold by his partners to Azucarera Española, the Spanish sugar monopolistic trust. In 1933 Norberto Goizueta Díaz bought the Guadalmina rural cortijo. The 1950 census shows 612 inhabitants in Guadalimna, 274 in the Ingenio neighbourhood and 1.028 in San Pedro de Alcántara. The first steps of today's tourist location were taken in 1959 when the Guadalmina

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

was built, being the first golf course in Marbella, as Rio Real golf course opened in 1965. Also in 1959 the Hotel Cortijo Blanco was opened as a hotel and holiday homes for Spanish filmmakers and artists such as

Mingote Ángel Antonio Mingote Barrachina, 1st Marquess of Daroca (17 January 19193 April 2012), also simply known as Mingote, was a Spanish cartoonist, writer and journalist. He drew a daily cartoon in ABC since 1953 until his death in 2012. Biography ...

Benito Perojo Benito Perojo González (Madrid, 14 June 1894 – Madrid, 11 November 1974) was a Spanish film director and film producer. Biography Son of José Perojo Figueras (1850–1908), a journalist and politician of Cuban origin, by his wife, Ana ...

. During the second half of the 20th century San Pedro de Alcántara grew as a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

close to the most important tourist destinations of Marbella and

Puerto Banús Puerto José Banús, more commonly known simply as Puerto Banús, is a marina located in the area of Nueva Andalucía (Marbella), Nueva Andalucía, to the southwest of Marbella, Spain on the Costa del Sol. It was built in May 1970 by José Banús, ...

. From 1991 to 2006 the GIL party governed Marbella, led by the charismatic Jesus Gil. During the

Spanish property bubble The Spanish property bubble is the collapsed overshooting part of a long-term price increase of real estate prices in Spain. This long-term price increase has happened in various stages from 1985 up to 2008. The housing bubble can be clearly divi ...

many holiday homes, urbanizations and hotels were built around San Pedro de Alcantara. In 2006 the GIL city council was forcibly dissolved by prime minister

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

because of, amongst other cases of political, economic and urban zoning corruption, the

Operation Malaya Operation Malaya () is a Spanish anti-corruption campaign in the southern resort city of Marbella. It began in 2006 and it is being carried out by the '' Policía Nacional'' under the direction of Judge Miguel Ángel Torres. The operation, now in ...

Heritage and monuments

* Las Bóvedas thermae (2nd century) * Vega del Mar early Christian basilica (4th century) * Las Bóvedas watchtower (16th century) * San Pedro de Alcantara 19th century colonial buildings: Ingenio theatre, church, villa de San Luis, Guadaiza cultural center, File:Edificio de la antigua alcoholera de San Pedro Alcántara.jpg, Ingenio theatre, former

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

File:Marbella - San Pedro Alcántara, Plaza de la Iglesia y Tenencia de Alcaldía.jpg, Villa San Luis, current town council File:-que-ver-en-san-pedro-alcantara-la-joya-escondida-de-marbella.jpg, San Pedro de Alcantara church File:Trapiche de Guadaiza.jpg, Farming school, current Trapiche Guadaiza cultural center

Transport

It is served by the A7, motorway and AP7 and A-397 to

Ronda Ronda () is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that ca ...

. The closest airport is Malaga-Costa del Sol. The nearest recreational ports are

, Estepona and Marbella ports. The closest railway station is Malaga-María Zambrano for high speed railway to

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and Madrid. It lies on the coastal road the N340/A7 and can be accessed as well as the toll motorway the AP7, 10 km west of

, Southern

.It is easily accessed from either

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

and via the C339 from

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

and

. The nearest airports of

and

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

are both within an hour's drive.

Urban bus

* L4: Puerto Banús - (El Ángel) - Nueva Andalucía - San Pedro. * L5: Puerto Banús - El Ángel - Nueva Andalucía - San Pedro - El Salto. * L7 (circular): San Pedro - Centro de Salud. * L13: Hospital Costa del Sol - Marbella Centro - San Pedro.

Intercity bus

San Pedro has connections to domestic destinations such as the major cities in Andalusia. * L-33 San Pedro - Benahavís * L-79 Marbella - San Pedro - Estepona * L-610 Málaga -

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

- Marbella - San Pedro - Estepona - La Línea

Culture

Semana Santa Semana Santa is the Spanish for Holy Week, the final week of Lent leading to Easter. In Spanish speaking cultures as well as Holy Week in the Philippines, the Philippines this becomes an annual tribute of the Passion of Jesus Christ celebrated by ...

is celebrated in San Pedro de Alcántara, along with other religious celebrations such as Corpus Christi,

Virgin of el Rocío The Virgin of El Rocío (also known as Madonna of El Rocío or Our Lady of El Rocío, , ''Nuestra Señora del Rocío''; also, formerly, ''Nuestra Señora de los Remedios'' or ''Santa María de las Rocinas'',, hermandadrociosevilla.com. Retrieved ...

Virgin of Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the la ...

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

, Toston day (roasting chesnuts), Christmas or

Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

which include small festivals, mass and

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

s carried out by the neighbours and enjoyed by visitors because of faith, tradition, or curiosity. In October the Feria de San Pedro de Alcantara honour the patron saint. They last for a week and take place in the fair grounds, former Juan Antonio Roca's Finca de la Caridad andalusian cortijo.

Education

References

External links

Book Fair San Pedro de Alcántara.

San Pedro Alcantara City Guide & Tourism Information.
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Pedro Alcántara Municipalities in the Province of Málaga Towns in Spain