Sights · 44 of the best in Marbella
Basílica de Vega del Mar
More than 1,500 years old
About Basílica de Vega del Mar
The ruins of an early Christian church and its cemetery near the sea at San Pedro Alcántara, with a baptismal font shaped like a fish. More than 1,500 years old.
A church on the Roman road
The basilica of Vega del Mar stands near the mouth of the Guadalmina river, close to the sea and to San Pedro Alcántara, beside the old Roman road that linked Cádiz with Cartagena. It was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, when the area was being replanted with eucalyptus.
The town’s heritage service dates the basilica to the 5th century, while some studies place the church that survives in the 6th century, built over an earlier one of the 4th. Either way, it is more than 1,500 years old and one of the most important early Christian sites in southern Spain.
One of the fonts combines the shape of a Greek cross with that of a fish, designed for baptism by full immersion.
Two apses and a baptistery
The church is almost square, about 11.5 metres a side, with three naves separated by pillars. Its most unusual feature is a pair of apses facing each other at either end, one serving as the altar and the other as a martyrium, a rare arrangement with very few parallels in the Iberian Peninsula and typical of North African churches of the period.
Beside the western apse is the baptistery, with several fonts. One, carved in stone, combines a Greek cross with the shape of a fish and was designed for baptism by immersion. Around the church lies a large cemetery: some two hundred burials have been excavated, spanning the 3rd to the 7th centuries.
Visiting
Guided visits run on Saturdays and Sundays from 11.15 am to 1 pm, booked through the Centro Cultural Rosa Verde in San Pedro. The Roman baths of Las Bóvedas are a short walk away, so you can see both in one morning.
Our advice: book the weekend visit, then walk to Las Bóvedas and finish with lunch by the sea at Guadalmina.
Why it's on our list
- 5th-century church
- Fish-shaped baptismal font
- Pair with Las Bóvedas
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Basílica de Vega del Mar before you go.
Plan your visit
- Where A-7 km 171, Urb. Linda Vista Baja, San Pedro Alcántara
- Visits Sat–Sun 11.15 am–1 pm, booked via Centro Cultural Rosa Verde
- Allow 45 minutes
- Nearby Las Bóvedas Roman baths