Costa del Sol Towns

Coin Attractions

As for the local art, that is one of the most important cultural elements of the town, such as sustaining and restoring decorative arches of medieval times.

Many of these local treasures are now legally protected, here are a few examples of the most important historical masterpieces:

The church and convent of St. Mary of the Incarnation is located in the square, it is     actually an ancient Muslim mosque which has been converted into a Catholic church, and    was the first parish church in Coin.

The San Fernando Cemetery is located in El Ejido and was opened on May 30 1888. It was built from a few basic drawings made by the architect Cirilo Perez Salinas.  He originated from Burgos, although had been resident in the capital of Malaga since 1833,

The plans were eventually executed by the local master builders Francisco Moreno Flores and Miguel Salgado Vazquez, an expert agronomist. This cemetery, which remains in use today, replaced the original cemetery, which was built in 1804 to address overcrowding in local temples and monasteries, and to meet the hygienic standards that since 1787, forced people to bury their dead outside towns and villages in Spain.

 

During the civil war, Coin was the scene of a bloody battle that took the lives of hundreds of people. During the Franco dictatorship many of Coin's people lived in exile in other Andalusia towns.

Decades later, Coin was transformed, the people who were previously dependent on agriculture and industry in this small town were increasingly turning to the construction sector and tourism services to earn their livings

The main church was restored in the last decade of the twentieth century. The nuns who once lived in the convent have now moved to a new facility, and the church halls are used for community purposes, especially those of cultural significance.

Since 2008 this historical monument has been recognised as being of cultural interest and has now been included in Andalusia’s general catalogue of historical heritage. 

The church of San Andre and the charity hospital are part of the same buildings. They were built in the 'plaza de San Andre', but in 1520 they moved to their current location

The complex itself is an unusual L-shaped construction, and is the result of a further expansion to the four buildings that already existed. This is a common way of building in Andalusia and many buildings of this kind can be found there. The San Andre site was built in the second half of the eighteenth century. It is currently under restoration.

The church of St. John the Baptist is located on the lower plaza. Originally constructed in 1489 on the site of an old Muslim castle, although it was not officially awarded recognition as a canonically established parish until 1505. Although already in use, the building was not fully completed until the middle of the sixteenth century.

The shrine of Our Lady of Fuensanta is located in one of the fields of Pereila. The building which houses it was erected on top of a cliff. The original chapel dates its existence from 1529, although the building which stands there today was built in 1680. This building underwent several reforms during the eighteenth century.

The most significant ceramics workshop during the last century was the Ridge Workshop. It is still working today, especially on this traditional Coin pottery, with over three hundred year old techniques. All of the pottery is made by local artisans.

The city has been used in the past for many film projects and television series, but has more recently been converted into a tourist area, greatly advertised by its appearance on our screens. Coin itself featured in the British series Eldorado, aired on the BBC in the early 1990's.

Tourism, construction, and hospitality have replaced the old industries, though there are still many potters and several quarries where marble, dolomite, and sand for construction, are extracted.

The legend of the virgin Fuensanta says that she (the virgin) was found by a shepherd who was with his flock of sheep in the field. He came across a cave, and inside he found a very pretty doll, he decided to take her to give his daughter as a gift. When he went to pick the doll up, she disappeared, he searched and searched but he could not find her so he gave up believing that he was imagining things

Coin is privileged in the location in which it stands. Located in the province of Malaga, Coin is situated near the beaches of the Costa del Sol, it is just a short distance from the provincial capital, and is very near the National Park.

The Vistillas Traditional Ceramics Museum is located in a privileged enclave on the southern slope of the Valle del Guadalhorce. The view across the valley allows one to see from the Sierra de Ronda, all the way to Malaga. The Museum shows the history of Coin throughout the twentieth century, and offers opportunity, through its content, exhibitions, and traditional ceramics workshop, to the new generations who want to learn about, and discover their collective history.

The economy was traditionally reliant upon agriculture combined with the mining of marble, (which has existed since Roman times), and ceramics. During the last century the ceramics trade was very important, and it was well known by its unique colour known as 'Green Coin'.

The next day he returned to the same field to graze his flock and out of curiosity he looked in the cave where he had found the doll the day before, and there was the doll in the same place where he had first found her. The shepherd thought this was a miracle that a doll could hide, and then decided to make it known to the priest from that day on, the doll was named the Virgin of Fuensanta, and made the Coin patron because when she had been found, she had hidden, and not wanting to be moved from the place she loves.

The legend of the 'Goat of the dead' is a popular event, transferred from generation to generation among the people of Coin.

Antiguan legend has it that one summer night, before there were means of transport such as cars and trains like we have now, a boy who lived in the Iban, after a long working day on the farm, rode into Coin to visit his girlfriend, and buy goods from the market.

Passing the Benitez Cortijo Seco River, the boy heard a few groans, he began to sing away the fear, and his horse and he went faster, but after a few moments he heard a cry that sounded like the bleat of a goat. In fact it was a kid who it seemed had lost his herd.

The boy got off his horse, grabbed the animal and put him across the front of his horse. However, he was surprised to find that the kid was growing up in a disproportionate manner, the legs of the goat growing longer and reaching to the ground.

The boy tried to pull the horse but it was impossible. A mysterious force holds the kid's feet down to the ground, pinning the horse beneath it. The boy tried it again and again, but could not move it. Finally he gave a big push and the kid suddenly disappeared.

The boy did not think that what he had witnessed could possibly have occurred. Such was the indescribable fear that he felt. When he arrived in Coin and told his relatives what had happened, he went to sleep that night and the poor boy woke up dead.

Other stories very similar to this have been told since, all slightly different but all essentially the same.