History of Marbella

Cabeza de Medusa, Villa Romana de Río Verde

Marbella has centuries of history and different cultures which have left their traces throughout the municipality and particularly on the historic centre. There are substantial numbers of Roman, Arabic and Christian remains in the Old Town which have been magnificently preserved.

The origin of the word Marbella is open to interpretations from historians and specialized philologists

The Catholic Monarchs granted Marbella its coat of arms with a Royal Warrant of 1493.

Prehistoric remains of the Paleolithic variety in the Coto de Correa in Las Chapas and Neolithic in the Pecho Redondo cave, Coto Correa in Las Chapas and Puerto Rico caves in the southern foothills of the Sierra Blanca, have all been discovered in Marbella.