The Artful Malaga
My first day in Malaga was a Sunday which is a day you can take to make free visits. In the Alameda, I turned to the Alcazaba where admission is free on Sunday afternoon. It is a fortified palace built by the Moors in the eleventh century on the ruins of another Roman bastion on the slopes of Mount Gibralfaro. Today it is one of the symbols of Malaga. It was enlarged in the sixteenth century. The Catholic Monarchs used it as a residence since it was surrounded by a triple enclosure of walls. It consists of 110 towers, buildings, gardens, bathrooms, houses and mosques. Around three large courtyards have pools that are ceramic clustered.
Photo by Wikimedia
At the end is the Keep with a house in the upper part with lounges and a patio. It is one of the few monuments of the Arabian life of the twelfth century that is preserved. Next to it is the Roman Theatre of the first century BCE, the time of Emperor Augustus. It was discovered in 1951. Inside we see the remains of the orchestra, the stands of 31 meters in diameter and 16 feet high with 13 steps.
The Picasso Foundation is located in the Plaza de la Merced, in the so-called Casas de Campos, which was created by the city of Málaga in 1988. Picasso was born in this house in 1881. There I found many beautiful pieces of art that are as beautiful as the well known Saatchi Art. In another building of the same square, there’s the second home of the artist. This is where there’s the temporary exhibition “Falla/Picasso: Le tricorne” better known as “The Three-Cornered Hat”, creative collaboration of two Andalusians. In it you can see the designs and figurines decorated for the work, in water-colour, gouache and drawing. They were highly praised at the premiere ballet.
After seeing this beautiful exhibition I visited the Cathedral. Its full name is Our Lady of the Incarnation, located on the remains of the early Almohad mosque. Its construction started in 1530 and ended in the eighteenth century, although unfinished, it lacks the kick of the main facade and the south tower. It’s in renaissance style, has three naves with an ambulatory, all the same height, which gives great prominence.
Highlights include the two organs of the eighteenth century, still in perfect condition with frequent concerts. This is where my first tour of Malaga ended. It was definitely a Sunday afternoon well spent. Seeing many outstanding art works and pieces of arts like Picasso prints which can be bought via Saatchi Art.
