In the Andalusi-Arabic period, the town stood on the site of the present-day centre of Marbella. During Nazari times, Marbella was part of the kingdom of Granada, a situation which persisted until its conquest by the Catholic Monarchs in 1485. Relics of this period in the old centre of Marbella are remains of the castle walls. Its present name comes from that time. The Moors called it Marbilha.
A new stimulus, which was to forever change the whole face of Marbella, San Pedro de Alcantara and the rest of the municipal area, as well as its inhabitants’ economic activities and way of life, came in the second half of the 20th century, when the progressive development of tourism, transformed the town into one of the world’s leading holiday resorts.