page_title: Benalmádena
section_title: Modern age
hierarchical_section_title: Benalmádena / History / Modern age
caption_attribution_description: English: Puerto Marina in Benalmádena, Costa del Sol, Spain
context_page_description: Benalmádena is a town in Andalusia in southern Spain, 12 km west of Málaga, on the Costa del Sol between Torremolinos and Fuengirola.
  Benalmádena is rich in attractive beaches and interesting places like the Colomares Castle, the 33-metre-tall Buddhist Benalmádena Stupa, the largest Buddhist stupa in Europe, the Benalmádena Marina and the Benalmádena Cable Car.
  Benalmádena covers an area of just over 27 km² that extends from the summits of the Sierra de Mijas to the sea, falling in some places as a cliff. The territory is crossed from east to west on Highway A-7, which connects with the provincial capital and other centres of the Mediterranean coast.
  With 61,383 inhabitants according to the INE census of 2010, Benalmádena is the eighth most populous municipality in the province and the third largest metropolitan area, behind Málaga and Torremolinos. The population is concentrated in three main centers: Benalmádena Pueblo, Arroyo de la Miel and Benalmádena Costa, although the high urban growth and demographic tends to unify the three cores.
  Benalmádena has been inhabited since prehistoric times.
context_section_description: In 1784 the Italian Félix Solesio purchased the farm “Arroyo de la Miel” to build six paper factories to supply the Royal Factory of Playing Cards of Macharaviaya. The destination for most production was the American market. This would mean the birth of the nucleus of Arroyo de la Miel around the new business and the factories built at what is now “Plaza de España”, containing the “Portal de San Carlos” (San Carlos gate) with the arms of Solesio and the “La Tribuna” building. A monument to the founder of this complex was erected in the square.
  In the 19th century the city grew through the exploitation of muscatel grapes for the wine production, but the vine plague of phylloxera ruined crops across the province. Epidemics of malaria, typhoid and cholera also undermined the population.
  The municipality's population boom began in the 1950s with the birth and development of mass tourism on the Spanish coast. Many established hotels, restaurants and businesses opened in this period, such as the Hotel Triton (1961), Tivoli World amusement park (1973), Torrequebrada casino and hotel (1979), Selwo Aquarium, Sea Life Aquarium, Chollocasa, Cable car, Irentinsapain, Hotel Alay. Many more were constructed in the early 21st century.
caption: One of the 'floating houses' in Puerto Deportivo in Benalmádena
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