A Divine Oasis: The Exotic Gardens of La Cónsula

Jardín histórico La Cónsula is a botanical garden in Málaga, Spain, nestled in the district of Churriana. Since 1993, it has been the headquarters of the Escuela de Hostelería de Málaga. Originally known as San Rafael, a farm, it was owned in the 18th century by D. Juan Roose Kupckovius, a Prussian consul, who began construction of the palace in a Classical French style. In 1856, the property was purchased by D. Enrique Heredia, who imported exotic plant species from around the world.

A century later, Ernest Hemingway visited the property, writing an article for Life magazine about a boxing match between Luis Miguel Dominguín and Antonio Ordóñez. This article would later inspire his novel The Dangerous Summer, in which he describes the garden as the best place in the world for its divine light and warm climate. Today, the garden covers 12.5 hectares and contains 700 specimens of 100 species, including Romneya trichocalix, Romneya coulteri, Cycas revoluta, palm trees, bamboo, yucca, Araucaria, and Jacaranda.

The palace of the ancient farm is a construction of unknown author, reminiscent of colonial houses created in South American and Southern United States haciendas. The Tumba del cura, a cupola-shaped temple, was built during the time that the farm was in the hands of the priest D. Pedro López in the 17th century. The garden features tropical and subtropical species. In 1973, the Ayuntamiento bought the La Cónsula estate from Anne Bakwel Davis. A restoration was carried out in 1984, and the consortium between the Ayuntamiento de Málaga and the Junta de Andalucía purchased the property in 1993, converting the house of the estate into the headquarters of the Escuela de Hostelería de Málaga.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons