Torremolinos is a municipality on the Costa del Sol of the Mediterranean, immediately to the west of the city 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.

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 ofnwhich 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).

Pre-Roman

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

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 is12 metres (39’37 metres) tall and was built with earth. It is composed of two floors and watch windows to the sea and a terrace.

Modern age

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 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.