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The entrance to the village of Manilva.
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One of the most charming aspects
of Manilva is that, despite its prime location on the coast, there
is a refreshing lack of anonymous sky-scraper construction. Therefore,
although tourists are just starting to discover the village (with
good reason), it remains intrinsically Spanish. The majority of
residents live in the commercial centre which covers just two square
kilometers.
Within the municipality of Manilva
there are several communities. The white village of Manilva itself
is located a few kilometers inland from the little fishing village
on the coast known as San Luis de Sabinillas
or just Sabinillas for short. To the west of Sabinillas there is
a quiet yachting marina called Puerto
Duquesa with its surrounding residential area and golf course.
To the west again is another small fishing hamlet called Castillo
de la Duquesa after the castle still found there. West along
the coast there are various housing developments as far as Punta
Chullera.
The municipality covers an area
of 35 square kilometers. There are about 17,000 full time residents
and a further 14,000 who reside here on a temporary basis or have
holiday homes. The economy of Manilva is based on agriculture and
fishing and, more recently, tourism.
The area's agriculture mainly consists
of crops grown near the river bed and valleys. The river Manilva
is the eastern boundary of the municipality. Grapes consist of a
large proportion of the crop - used for the well-known locally produced
sweet wines which keep badly and are best drunk when new.
The town has a fascinating history which dates back to Roman times
and still today there are some remarkably well-preserved Roman
Sulphur baths and an Aqueduct. The Moors who favoured this location
left and the town gradually faded away. In the 16th century the
towns of Malaga, Marbella and
Ronda were concerned that the coastline to the
south of them was unprotected so they offered free land to poorer
peasants in the north of Spain. There had to be a catch, indeed
there was. Their area was still subject to raids from Moorish and
Turkish pirates. To give the new arrivals a fighting chance of surviving
a village was sited on a small hill 3km inland.
Having fun at the September Manilva Grape harvest.
Because it is simple and unpretentious, Manilva is often overlooked.
Although a healthy growing village tourists tend to give it a miss
as they rush south on the coast road which does not pass through
the village.
To reach the village turn off the A7 (N340) at km 145 on to the
A377 in the village of San Luis de Sabinillas.
Only 300m on the left hand side notice the municipal tourist office
is located in the quaint Villa Matilde, (Monday
to Friday from 8.00 to 15.00) and flanked with tall palm trees.
There are many opportunities in the Autumn to buy grapes or raisins
by the roadside. On any day you can stop on the bend up to the village
to buy some of the best fresh vegetables in the area from the local
co-operatives. Look out for the sign "Verduras Pascual".
When you reach the village at the top of the hill park the car and
saunter on into the pedestrianised main street, Calle Mar.
If you approach from the Toll Motorway junction or Gaucin to the
north, your entrance is dilapidated to say the least. Keep one eye
on the road and the other on the magnificent view whilst you skirt
round the village to park you car on the far side.
If the summer sun is too hot sit down on a bench in the shade and
watch the world go by. Otherwise pass the Town Hall on the left
hand side and turn left down Calle Inglesia. Pass the Casa de la
Cultura which may feature an exhibition. Continue to the parish
church of Santa Ana.
The most conspicuous feature of the village is the church and its
adjoining cemetery. The parish church is old, but not ancient, having
been build in the 18th century. There is nothing particularly distinctive
about it, and it has little of interest in the way of adornment
or decoration. It is a simply a good solid place of communal worship,
functional without being flamboyant. It has three naves separated
by arches, and having said that all but a Tolstoy has exhausted
the well of description. Immediately alongside is a typical Spanish
cemetery, with rows of clean, well kept, above-ground tombs. Even
the oldest is comparatively recent - dating only from 1877 - and
apart from a couple more from the 1890s, they seem exclusively from
the twentieth century. What attracts the attention of the foreign
visitor however, is the comparative abundance of English names from
the late 1980s and 1990s.
GPS Locations
- Main Street (Calle Mar): 36º 22' 40'' N
5º 15' 09'' W
- Iglesia Santa Ana: 36º 22' 33'' N 5º
15' 08'' W
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