The Alcazaba of Málaga will open at night and include night tours in 2026 after completing its new lighting.

The Alcazaba-Gibralfaro complex is the star monument of Malaga. It is the most visited and most photographed by tourists - surpassing the Picasso Museum - ... yet, it carries a contradiction: its worrying state of conservation and the lack of systematic actions to prevent its deterioration beyond urgent interventions. The famous master plan that has been discussed for decades seems to be nearing completion, although under a different name to avoid association with such a long period of inactivity at this emblematic BIC (Cultural Interest Site). It is now called the "comprehensive conservation and rehabilitation plan," which has been in progress for two years and whose drafting status was advanced this Thursday by the councilors of Urban Planning and Culture, Carmen Casero and Mariana Pineda, respectively, who have placed the completion of their studies in "a few weeks" to be subsequently subjected to the scrutiny of the Andalusian Regional Government. In their appearance, the councilors also took the opportunity to discuss other matters of interest, such as a "visitor cap" at the fortress to precisely favor its protection and the project for new lighting of the complex, which has already been presented to the Ministry of Culture and is awaiting approval for its tender. This action will allow for extended hours and the establishment of night visits starting in 2026.

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"A year ago, we found it interesting to start an interior lighting project at the Alcazaba that will allow, firstly, better visualization and preventive conservation, and secondly, for the Alcazaba to open at night for night visits, not just on an exceptional basis as has been successfully done during the White Night and other initiatives," said Mariana Pineda, who announced that the new lighting project has already been presented to the Andalusian Regional Government and is awaiting approval.

For this reason, the councilor of Culture ventured to say that "in the coming weeks we will have the definitive green light to proceed with the tender of the lighting." Waiting for that green light - no pun intended - Pineda has given herself a year to complete the entire administrative and installation process, so she expects the moonlit tours at the monument to start regularly in 2026.

Coinciding with a motion

This was the most tangible announcement of the press conference about the actions at the Alcazaba-Gibralfaro, an exercise in "transparency," according to the councilor of Urban Planning, Carmen Casero, who specified that we are "a few weeks" away from the presentation of that diagnosis on the state of conservation of the monument and its conservation plan, which, on the other hand, is systematically demanded by the Regional Government to the City Council in each emergency resolution approved by the Provincial Heritage Commission. An update on the interventions that has also coincided with the presentation by the municipal group Con Málaga of a motion in the next Urban Planning, Mobility and Security Commission next Monday about the poor state of conservation of the fortified complex.

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Preemptively addressing the content of that motion, Carmen Casero began her speech by asserting that "if it seems that we do nothing (at Alcazaba-Gibralfaro) it's because we don't communicate it enough." Thus, she detailed the urgent actions that cannot wait due to the deterioration of the walls or the effects of the past autumn-winter storms, and explained that, in the last two years, "if all the actions in works and archaeological interventions that we have carried out are added up, they total almost 25, so work is constantly being done and what arises is addressed. The activity does not stop."

Regarding the eternal master plan, now renamed as the comprehensive conservation plan, she stated that its drafting is largely finished, while another part is at 85%, so she talked about weeks to present the project to the Andalusian Regional Government. However, the Provincial Heritage Commission will have to issue its opinion, which may be favorable to the document for the protection of the Alcazaba-Gibralfaro complex, although it may also request improvements or revisions, as it usually does with other less ambitious interventions.

Two new positions have been approved at the City Council for the hiring of an architect and a conservator to coordinate the new Alcazaba-Gibralfaro plan

Casero explained that, at this time, she could not specify the actions that will be included in the comprehensive conservation plan, but she did indicate that this scientific study, which has involved architects, archaeologists, historians, and restorers, will offer a "general diagnosis of the complex" that, like a "traffic light," will mark both the actions in red with "priority character" on the monument, as well as the medium and long-term interventions. Additionally, as this document has prior approval from the Andalusian Regional Government, it will no longer be necessary for restorations to be re-approved, which will shorten the times, she indicated.

Two new positions for the Alcazaba

Among the advances of the conservation plan, the Alcazaba-Gibralfaro will have "for the first time a nomenclature for all types of canvases and towers, which did not exist until now," revealed the councilor of Urban Planning, who added that the entire monumental complex has also been scanned to create a georeferenced 3D model. "This digital replica has allowed us to access areas to which we physically had not had access, so we have additional fundamental information," she valued.

To coordinate this new plan, the councilor of Culture announced that two new positions have been approved in her department for the hiring of an architect and a conservator, who will ensure the works and serve as a bridge between her area and the Urban Planning Management with the aim of speeding up the interventions.

Mariana Pineda also addressed the attendance at the Alcazaba-Gibralfaro complex, which, in the first half, reached almost 1.2 million visitors, although with a reduction of 40,000 entries. The councilor attributed this decline to the past storms and a general decrease in audience that other cultural centers and museums have also experienced, although she noted that the figures are balancing out this summer and, during the fair, the attendance was slightly higher than in 2024.

The councilor of Culture also considers the wear and tear that the massive attendance of the public to a medieval monument already deteriorated entails, so they also have on the table the sustainability of the fortress. Thus, she explained that, following the path of Malaga Procultura - which manages the Cervantes Theater and the Malaga Festival - her area has undertaken a "public study" in exhibition spaces, libraries, and the Alcazaba-Gibralfaro complex "to analyze policies of reduction and the establishment of a visitor cap for its conservation."