|
 Nerja
is the eastemmost municipality in the province of Málaga,
lying between the foothills of the Sierra Almijara and the
coast. There are two main areas of population: the town
of Nerja itself and the little hamlet of Maro. At the entrance
to the town of Nerja from the westerm end, on the N-340
main road, there stands a sculpture by Aurelio Teno known
as the Rapto de Europa (the abduction of Europe), which
was set up to commemorate Spain's entry into the European
Community in January 1986. At the southern tip of the town
a famous promontory, known as the Balcon de Europa, hangs
over the sea. It was built on the spot occupied by the Guards'Tower
in Moorish times and constituted the starting point for
present-day Nerja, which began to develop as a settlement
about 500 years ago, in the reign of Queen Juana la Loca
(Joan the Mad). This was after the last Moors, who lived
at the Castillo Alto farmstead in Naricha (the old name
of Nerja), about two kilometres up the Frigiliana road,
had finally left.
One of the main historical buildings in the town is the
Church fo El Salvador, built at the end of the seventeenth
century (1697) on the side of the old castle chapel. Enlarged
in 1770, it now houses a magnificent mural of the Incarnation
on a Nerja beach by one of the great masters of new European
painting, Francisco Hernández, and a bronze christ,
like the statue at the entrance to the town. by sculptor
Aurelio Teno.
 The
original atmosphere of an Andalusian Mediterranean village
is preserved in the streets in the old part of town. Another
attractive feature is the Verano Azul (blue summer) Park,
named after a tv series filmed here, which brought fame
to the area - and the boat, El Dorado, belonging to the
main character , "Chanquete". The River Miel flows
out into the sea in this area, with an old paper mill standing
near the mouth. It was built at the end of the eighteenth
century by Manuel Centurión Guerrero de Torres, who
was Governor General of the overseas province of Guayana
in the reing of king Charles III. On the road between Nerja
and Maro you will pass by a beautiful piece of engineering
work, erected at the end nineteenth century. This is an
aqueduct that used to transport water from a spring in Maro
to the San Joaquín de Maro sugar factory. 
 Fiestas.
The fair, a great tradition in the town ever since 1804,
is held honour of the patron sanint, Nuestra Señora
de Angustias, between October 8th and 12th. Tourists, foreign
residents and the local people all mingle at this event.
The romeria (semi-secular, semi-religious parade) for the
feast of St. Isidore the farm hand is held around May 15th
and is one of the most eye-catching of all the local ones.
It starts out from the Balcón de Europa and ends
outside the cave, where a big country party is held attended
by up to 10.000 people. There are many more special festivities
but one that must be mentioned is the carnival, lasting
five days in February, it is one of the best on the Costa
del Sol. The maritime procession in honour of the Virgen
del Carmen is on July 16th. The festival of Maro in honour
of San Antón is a century old tradition, and in September
there is the festival of the patron saint, Nuestra Señora
de las Maravillas, where the townspeople congregate beside
their Virgen de las Maravillas.
 Gastronoy.
Nerja has its own traditional cuisine with many delicious,
attractive dishes: fish and noodle broths, fried pumpkin
with sardines, rice with consommé and cockles, avocado
salad, kid in tomato sauce, octopus in tomato sasuce, salt
cod cakes with parsley and many more. A traditional local
dessert is yams with cane syrup, while the wines from the
hills are both sweet and dry.
 Maro
and the Cliffs.
Maro, forming part of the municipality of Nerja, has some
beautiful cliffs reaching almost to the province of Granada.
Its origins go back to Roman times, when Detunda, as it
was known in those days, lay between the nearby Roman towns
of Sexi (present-day Almuñecar) and Clavicum (present-day
Torrox), beide the Roman road from Cástulo (which
war near present-day Linares in the province of Jaén)
to Malaca (Malaga).
Maro's little church is typical of those found in Mediterranean
villages. At present, the cliffs of Maro are very popular
route to the beaches, one of which has a chiringuito (beach
bar) and which can be reached by car. The other beaches
are for the more adventurous types, and have to be reached
on foot by signed pathways. Nudism is permitted on some
of them but camping is prohibited.
Size: 84,4 Km2
Population: 16.500
Residents known as: Nerjeños
Monuments: Church of El Salvador, hermitage of Las
Angustias, aqueduct of El Aguila, Rapto de Europa (a statue),
Barco de Chanquete (a boat), El Quijote Castellano language,
Nerja Caves.
Geographical situation: 50 kms from Malaga, 60 from
the Airport on the Autovia del Mediterráneo or the
old N-340, and 100 kms from Granada.
Tourist information: Tourist Office, Puerta del Mar,
4 Nerja, Andalucia, Spain.
Phone: 952 52 15 31. |
