The Costa del Sol, a stretch of coast that runs along Spain’s southern coast, has struggled with a mixed reputation over the years. It was long known as a place where visitors from northern Europe came for cheap beer and sunshine. And the city of Málaga, east of the better-known Marbella, had an even worse reputation. It was the place even those “cheap-beer-and-sunshine” visitors wanted to avoid—a dirty, grimy, and crime-ridden port city. Millions of passengers landed each year in Málaga airport, to head west along the coast to the beaches, golf courses, and English pubs. They didn’t even think about visiting Málaga. It seemed as though this ancient city had been lost: 2,800 years of human settlement decaying.