"The 29th of the same month, leaving the seacoast in the morning, we arrived in Málaga, five leagues away. A maritime and populous city, it is notable for its famous port. This journey was extremely dangerous, because of the Saracens, who at night, when the winds are favorable, came from Barbary, and knowing the situation of the place, robbed anyone they encountered before sunrise, and carried away prisoners with them. Recently, they abducted some shepherds and five farmers.
The city is circular, or actually more in the form of a triangle and as big as Nördlingen. When it was at its apogee under the Saracens it had seven thousand houses. There are two very beautiful gates, like semicircles, with three very strong towers at the angles. Towards the west end there is a great building with seven arches for the docking of boats and galleys, and a very lovely mosque with a hundred and thirteen free standing columns, that is now the Episcopal seat.
It has also three monasteries of minor brothers, of preachers, and a new foundation of minor brothers at the head of which is the Aragonese brother Bernardo de Boil, who was sent to the Indies as a true discoverer. His intimate preferential treatment in Madrid served me well before the King, and he spoke to me a lot about those islands. The monastery is situated towards the south, on a very fertile plain, with very leafy abundant gardens in former times, but now destroyed because of the siege.
In the great mosque the King set up a handsome tablet in honor of Saint John the Baptist, who is his patron saint. The king is painted on it, holding in his hand a cartouche that reads: "Non nobis domine, ,etc., and the Queen, holding another with: "Benedicte sit sancta Trinitas et indivisa Unitas, que fecit misericordiam nobis."
[The Castles of Málaga]: In the foothills of the mountain, facing towards the east from the city, is a notable and very beautiful castle, very strong, decorated with many iron gates and very diverse locks. Oh, how beautiful is also the spectacle next to the seaport! It also has three caves or great cavities in the very hard rock, like those in Granada, where Christian captives and many other things were held. The castle governor received us affably, thanks to our letters of introduction, and one of his servants took us up to the high castle fortress, situated on the mountain top, within two sets of walls. Oh, what a marvelous and well-fortified castle! From there, on clear days, one can easily make out Africa and Barbary. It measures a distance of fifteen short miles. We also saw a charming little royal mosque, and some notable displays of mosaics in the Moorish style.
In the month of January—ten months ago—Málaga suffered a terrible earthquake, which destroyed many buildings and towers. And it caused such a rise in the earth at the port, that many boats were beached until the earth sank again on waves of wind."
What Münzer Saw:
The triple-walled Fortresses of the Alcazaba (on the lower hillside) and Gibalfarro (up the hill) are the only architectural remains of the Nasrids and their predecessors, so recently conquered by Fernando and Isabel (1487). A model in the Gibalfarro information center shows what the fortresses would have looked like, and the almost-circular city, as it existed at that time.
The great mosque declared a Cathedral has long disappeared; construction on the present Cathedral began on the site in the 16th century, and was completed in the 18th. The tablet that King Fernando set up in the converted mosque has disappeared.
The Dominican monastery still exists, though again much altered. It was outside the city walls in the late 15th century.
Like most other southern Spanish cities, Málaga has had its share of earthquakes, and at the time Münzer visited, most of the city had been destroyed by one, much like Almería.
What Münzer Could Have Seen:
Several other churches were being constructed over conquered mosques, including San Juan Bautista. All have been so changed over the years that no original traces remain (the latest restoration of San Juan, in a tasteful Baroque style, was completed in 2009.
One thing he could have seen was an image of the Virgin and Child that had been donated to the newly-proclaimed Cathedral by the Catholic Kings, and is one of the few pieces that was there in the late 15th century; it was augmented by glamorized images of Fernando and Isabel by Pedro de Mena, the best-known sculptor of 17th-century Málaga.
What Münzer Never Would Have seen (us: June 7-8, 2011):
Münzer was alive too early to see the sensational images of the Crucified Christ and the Virgin Mary, kept in the chapels of its numerous parishes and processed during Holy Week. The Virgin figures have crystal tears, rich crowns and ever-changing wardrobes
Numerous natural disasters have struck the city over the centuries: more earthquakes, a tsunami, plague and cholera epidemics, and phylloxeria, which practically wiped out Málaga’s grape crop—as important for making its famous raisins as for its sweet wines. The city now is modern, and, not surprisingly, spread in all directions. It is still an important port, but now big container ships are unloaded here, and it’s a popular stop for cruise lines, and it is also surrounded by beach resort towns such as Torremolinos and Marbella. Aside from Pedro de Mena, Picasso was born here too.
So far as we can tell, you can’t see Africa from the city, even on a clear day—certainly not from the Gibalfarro fortress, though we tried.
A Note: Julio Benitez, art historian, photographer, friend and fabulous traveling companion, leaves this project tomorrow to go on to Germany, and then back to San Antonio and finally moving to Iowa with his terrific wife. He'll be sorely missed.
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