The municipal territory of Rincón de la Victoria is bordered by the Totalán stream on the west and by that of San Millán on the east, and there are two other streams, the Granadillas and Benagalbón; all of these have only seasonal flow. Moving inland from the coastal strip, there are numerous elongated hills on which olive, almond, and carob trees and vineyards predominate in a landscape that is typical of La Axarquía but without great elevations, the highest peak being the Salazar hill at 512 metres.

This municipality is made up of several population centres: Benagalbón, five kilometres into the interior; La Cala; Torre de Benagalbón; Aguirre; Los Millares and several others with less population. In the last 20 years, practically all of these communities, especially Rincón de la Victoria and La Cala, have experienced spectacular growth due mainly to their proximity to the city of Málaga and to improvements in their transportation links. What were originally second homes for many residents of the capital have thus become their main residences.
This does not make Rincón de la Victoria just an extension of Málaga, although its proximity is an advantage. It has a life of its own and also very dynamic tourism and commerce.

 

This was one of the first territories in the province of Málaga to be settled by humans, at least judging by the data that is available to date, and is one of the best documented in La Axarquía due to the Paleolithic paintings and fossil remains that have been found at the El Tesoro cave and the no less interesting Bronze Age relics found at the La Victoria cave.
It is known that around the year 550 B. C. a Punic-Phoenician settlement was established on the Loma de Benagalbón (Hill of Benagalbón), and later the Romans also established themselves in this area as is shown by the mosaics and ruins of bathhouses discovered here. This tends to corroborate the description of the historian Pliny in the first century, who took note of the existence of a fortress built as a defence against possible invasions from the sea. It is more than probable that around this fortress the Arabs founded what is today Rincón de la Victoria and called it Bezmiliana, which would have been the name given to it by the Romans with some variation by the Arabs.
According to the description of the eleventh century Muslim El Idrissi, ancient Bezmiliana (Bizilyana), of which practically nothing remains today, had a fishing port, a medina (central village district), a mosque and a wall protecting the town. The scant remains of the town are still visible in the area known as El Castellón, on the Benagalbón road.

 

According to some Christian accounts, it seems that the inhabitants of these districts abandoned the place ahead of the advancing Christian troops, since when they were en route to Málaga from Vélez Málaga they found the village depopulated. Towards the end of the fifteenth century or the beginning of the sixteenth, some 120 persons arrived in this area with the objective of repopulating it, but these new villagers also abandoned the area even before the Moorish rebellion of 1569. According to some historians, this was due to a plague epidemic, to which might be added the bad relations with the Moorish population, constantly more oppressed by the Christians, and the continual invasions from the sea.
Construction was begun in 1776 near the ruins of Bezmiliana on the Bezmiliana fortress or castle that was intended to defend this entire section of the coast, in this case from the English.

 

Under the shelter of this huge project small structures began to spring up that would shortly form a population centre, whose inhabitants devoted themselves to fishing. It would be considered a sub-district of Benagalbón, the community that would continue to be the municipality’s nucleus of population until 1906 when the population of Rincón de la Victoria was much greater than that of Benagalbón. Nevertheless, it was not until 1950 that the Town Hall was officially located in Rincón de la Victoria. The origin of the name is that the territory occupied by the village belonged to the La Victoria convent.

Outstandings Visits:
Although the maritime tradition is far from lost in this locality the old houses of fishermen that used to line the beach in haphazard order have been trapped-those that are still standing, that is-between modern structures. Nevertheless, the village preserves the unmistakable hallmark of a coastal La Axarquía community, having maintained a rare equilibrium between the eclectic construction of recent years and the traditional local architecture.
Its broad seafront promenade, where a large proportion of its hotel establishments are concentrated, commands a view of the entire Bay of Málaga. In the new housing projects, which of necessity extend into the interior of the municipality, new leisure facilities have sprung up, such as the 18-hole Añoreta golf course.

The fortaleza de Bezmiliana (Bezmiliana fortress), also known as the fort or castle of the same name, is the most significant monument in Rincón de la Victoria. It was built in 1766, following plans drawn up by José de la Crane, to defend this part of the coast of Málaga because Gibraltar had fallen into the hands of the English. It has a quadrangular floor plan with cylindrical towers on two of its corners. Its stern architectural lines clearly indicate the function for which it was designed, which was very different from its present one, for since its restoration in 1992 the fortress has housed a prestigious exhibition centre, and other spaces devoted to cultural activities.
The iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen (the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the maritime Virgin par excellence) was built in 1892. It is a very simple church, directly connected to popular architecture. It consists of three naves and a bell tower that adjoins the Evangel Side nave. The iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Our Lady of La Candelaria church) in Benagalbón was erected in the sixteenth century but only the walls remain from the original construction. Its interior is noteworthy for its murals by the world-famous Vélez painter, Francisco Hernández: the Ascension, in the central part; and the Nativity and Christ Teaching in the Temple, on the sides.

 

 

The torres almenaras de El Cantal y de Benagalbón (El Cantal and Benagalbón lookout towers) are in quite good condition and are part of the defensive system that was provided to the entire coast of Málaga in the late Middle and early Modern Ages to give warning of the numerous invasions by sea that for so many years held the residents of this region at bay.
The Cueva del Tesoro (Treasure Cave), also known as the El Higuerón or the El Suizo cave –these last two names are not used at the present time-is located on the El Cantal ridge between Rincón de la Victoria and La Cala. This cave has been documented since the seventeenth century, and in it have been found cave paintings (goat heads), ceramic relics (bowls, kettles, spherical and ovoid vases), and fossil and skeletal remains that date from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Ages.
A tour of its interior is 500 metres long, and it has an area of 3,000 square metres. It has four chambers or galleries named Noctiluca (for the Phoenician goddess of fertility), La Virgen (The Virgin), Marco Craso (Marcus Crassius; it is said that this Roman personage, who was a member of the First Triumvirate along with Pompey and Caesar, hid in this cave while in flight after having assassinated his father) and Los Lagos (The Lakes).
The Cueva de la Victoria (La Victoria cave) is not as well known as El Tesoro. It was discovered in 1939, and according to studies that have been done, it used to have remarkable archaeological remains dating from the late Paleolithic to the Bronze Age but they were destroyed when some farmers entered the premises looking for bat manure to use for fertiliser. Visits by some “amateur archaeologists” and curious members of the general public also have not helped in the preservation of the site.

How to Get There:
Due to its coastal location, the only route to Rincón de la Victoria is the Mediterranean Expressway (A-7; N-340). When it gets to the village it splits into two branches but either can be used. If you are coming from the Western Costa del Sol you should go towards Motril-Almería, and if coming from the Eastern Costa del Sol you should go towards Málaga-Cádiz.

Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 27.5 square kilometres
Population: 31,000
What the natives are called: Rinconeros
Monuments: the Bezmiliana fortress, the churches of Nuestra Señora del Carmen and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Benagalbón), El Cantal and Benagalbón watchtowers, and the caves of El Tesoro and La Victoria.
Geographical Location: in the south-western part of La Axarquía, on the Eastern Costa del Sol, 12 kilometres from Málaga. Average rainfall in the area is 480 litres per square metre and the average temperature is 18ºC.
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Plaza Al-Andalus, 1 (29730). Telephone: 952 402 300; Fax: 952 402 900