MALAGA, Sp. pron. maga-gni (ancient Ma laca). The capital of the Province of Ma laga. in the former Kingdom of Granada, Spain. It is situated at the head of a small bay of the Medi terranean Sea. 04 miles northeast of Gibraltar (Map: Spain, C 4). It is picturesquely located on a fertile plain, amid gardens and vineyards, and surrounded on three sides by mountains. The climate is remarkably. dry and equable, the place being protected from the north winds by the mountains. and enjoying the tempering influence of the sea breezes. It is a straggling, ir regularly built town, with narrow, crooked, and unclean streets, and has few interesting features. The old portion is built at the foot of the steep bill of Gibralfaro. surmounted by a Moorish castle, which is about the only relic of past times still preserved. The newest portions of the town. how ever, arc more attractive. Near the harbor is a handsome, broad promenade, the Alameda, shaded by fine trees and ending at a beautiful fountain. There are several new avenues laid out along the water front, and the new residential district of the Caleta is pretty and well kept. The cathedral is
a vast structure of a mixed style of architecture, chiefly Gothic, hut very imposing, dominating the whole view of the town from the sea. There is a large bull-ring. The intellectual life is cen tred in the lyceum of literature and art, with a good library and picture galleries. The harbor. which was formerly obstructed, has since 1892 been improved. and there is considerable trade in sugar, wine, oil, lemons, and other agricultural products. There are manufactures of soap and chemicals, ropes, leather, and cloth, as well as several large iron foundries, sugar refineries. and distilleries. Population. in 1887, 134.016; in 1000, 131.063.
In ancient. times MAlaga was an important Phrenician. and later a Carthaginian colony. the Pomans, and especially under the Moors, it developed into a strong military sta tion. It was captured in 1457 by Ferdinand and Isabella, after an heroic resistance.