Marbella is both a tabula rasa and a palimpsest. It can be anything to anyone. You can meet a rock star in the morning and a member of European royalty in the afternoon. There can't be many places where two such unique personalities can intersect. To paraphrase Churchill, it is a kaleidoscope, wrapped in a mosaic, within a melting pot. The result of successive waves of visitors leaving their mark over the years, Marbella is a social archaeological site where generations have led lives of sun-gilded leisure. Today, the popular image of Marbella may be of a kind of European Miami, but you only have to scratch this shiny surface to be taken back to a time when Marbella was a simpler place.

During the 1950s, it was a quiet, dusty traditional village, and today the old town remains a charming maze of streets, some so narrow that you can touch the rough white walls on either side. At Easter, solemn and dramatic religious processions wind through this maze of alleys and squares, as they have done for generations. What is truly impressive about Marbella, however, is how much has remained unchanged. Historical figures who have been connected to the coast – including, of course, Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe – may have passed into history, but their presence lives on in those who come after them.

With a personal narrative text by historian and journalist Nicholas Foulkes, a long-time visitor to Marbella, this colourful volume illustrates various aspects of this picturesque port, from the mountains to the beaches, from the charming old town to the glamorous nightlife.

Size: 25 x 33 cm