This easy access
to the provincial capital is at the root of Alhaurín
de la Torre's economic resurrection and cultural decline.
It has been seized upon by many who work in Málaga
but prefer not to live in the conurbation, and is rapidly
expanding as a commuter town. There is little doubt
that with the current explosion of building in full
swing, it will soon outstrip its neighbour in size and
population. We shall then have the ironic situation
of Alhaurín el Grande being the smaller of the
two.
As yet, the town is still set among large plantations
of citrus and avocado, but as it continues to grow,
and land becomes increasingly scarce and valuable, it
may be that many of them will disappear.
Having said all this, there is nonetheless history to
find if the visitor is diligent enough, though this
is chiefly in the outlying suburbs such as La Alquería
and Cortijo Molina. Perhaps aware that time is their
enemy, the town council, the ayuntamiento, has enterprisingly
compiled an exhaustive list of archæological sites,
the Carta Arqueológica. This includes many sites
which had previously been unrecorded, and which are
not protected by preservation orders. It is obvious
that these are the ones in most danger from the developers'
bulldozers.
La Alquería was once a town of sorts in its own
right, beginning as a 3rd Century BC Iberian hill fort
and flourishing for a while under the Romans before
petering out around 200AD. Nevertheless, there are still
vestigial remnants of Roman masonry in the area, though
many of them are now on private land and out of reach.
The biggest attraction for visitors to Alhaurín
de la Torre is undoubtedly the gardens of El Retiro.
Founded in the 17th Century by Fray Alonso de Santo
Tomás, Bishop of Málaga, and originally
use by him as his retirement home (hence, El Retiro)
the gardens display an impressive variety of plant and
wild life. Each section attempts to recreate the natural
habitat of the creatures housed in it, from semi-desert
to tropical swamp. The manor house at its centre has
also been impressively restored.
A visit to El Retiro is enough to make even the most
jaded visitor forget the frantic scramble beyond its
walls, and forgive Alhaurín de la Torre most
of its more earthly sins.
|