The Costa del Sol has been a popular summer vacation destination ever since Vladimir Raitz, co-founder of Horizon Holidays, introduced package tours to the region in the early 1960s. So, slap on some sunscreen, tuck into some tapas and have a drink in a local chiringuito, as Renato Serra Fonseca reviews the history of Spain’s fourth busiest airport.
MÁLAGA
Málaga is one of the oldest cities in the world, dating back some 2,800 years. The first people to settle were from ancient Iberian tribes, although the name Málaga derives from the Phoenician settlement Malaka that was founded around 770BC. The colony later fell to Carthaginian rule, but the Romans took over in 218BC and renamed it Malaca. A couple of centuries later, Malaca was allowed to form its own independent government and establish municipal laws, one of which granted those born locally the privilege of Roman citizenship. The city sat on important trade routes, and the Municipium Malacitanum became a stopping off point on the Via Heraclea, a major Roman road. The travellers in the first century AD were not visiting for the beaches or the bars, but the appeal of the region was compelling and the economy boomed. Then as the Roman empire decli…
