English and the World · Spain · 17 · Málaga · A1–C2 · Free
Three monuments on one hill: a Roman theatre lost for centuries and found by gardeners in 1951, a Moorish palace built with its stones, and the castle at the top that guarded them both. Choose your level.
The centre of Málaga
In the centre of Málaga there is a hill, and on the hill there are three famous monuments.
At the bottom is the Roman theatre. It is about 2,000 years old: it is the oldest monument in the city.
In the middle is the Alcazaba, a palace and fortress from the 11th century. It is younger than the theatre, but it is older than the cathedral. It has gardens, fountains and orange trees.
At the top is the castle of Gibralfaro, from 1340. It is the highest of the three, and it has the best views of the city, the port and the sea. The walk up is harder than the walk down!
From 1951 to today
For hundreds of years, nobody knew about the theatre. It was under houses and streets.
In 1951, some gardeners found some old stones. Then they found seats: it was a Roman theatre! But a big new building was on top of it. In 1995, the city took the building down, and now you can see the whole theatre.
Today the theatre is more popular than ever. Visitors sit on the old seats and take photos, and sometimes there are shows.
Language: comparatives and superlatives
| Adjective | Comparative (+ than) | Superlative (the…) |
|---|---|---|
| Short: old, high, young | older, higher, younger | the oldest, the highest, the youngest |
| Ending in -y: easy, pretty | easier, prettier | the easiest, the prettiest |
| Long: beautiful, popular | more beautiful, more popular | the most beautiful, the most popular |
| Irregular: good, bad | better, worse | the best, the worst |
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. Which is the oldest monument?
2. Where are the best views?
3. Who found the theatre in 1951?
4. What did the city do in 1995?
Write the comparative.
5. The theatre is (old) than the Alcazaba.
6. Gibralfaro is (high) than the Alcazaba.
7. The walk up is (hard) than the walk down.
8. Today the theatre is (popular) than ever.
Write the superlative, with the.
9. The theatre is (old) monument in the city.
10. Gibralfaro is (high) of the three.
11. Gibralfaro has (good) views.
12. For many people, the Alcazaba is (beautiful) place in Málaga.
Go there!
Where: Calle Alcazabilla, in the centre. Start at the theatre, then go up to the Alcazaba. To go to Gibralfaro, you can walk up the hill or take bus 35. Check the opening times before you go.
Your task: compare three places in your town. Write five sentences with comparatives and superlatives: … is older than … . … is the most beautiful … .
One hill, three times
From Calle Alcazabilla you can see three periods of history in one look: the stone seats of a Roman theatre, the walls of a Moorish palace above them, and, at the top of the hill, the castle that guarded both. Archaeologists don’t always know exactly what happened here, so they reason from the evidence: something must have happened, might have happened, or can’t have happened.
Read the two texts, then do the practice.
From the Romans to 1487
The Roman theatre was built about two thousand years ago, most guides say under the emperor Augustus, into the side of the hill, and it was used until about the 3rd century. When the Moors began the Alcazaba in the 11th century, the old theatre had long been abandoned, and they used it as a quarry: Roman columns and capitals can still be seen in the fortress walls. The builders must have known exactly where to find good cut stone: just below them.
The Alcazaba was both a palace and a fortress, with gardens, pools and patios of orange trees inside its walls. In about 1340, Yusuf I of Granada built the castle of Gibralfaro on the hilltop above it, and joined the two with a long walled corridor, the coracha. Together they made one of the strongest defences in al-Andalus. In the 14th century the great traveller Ibn Battuta described Málaga as one of the largest and most beautiful towns of al-Andalus, famous for its figs and its golden pottery. In 1487, the city resisted the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella for about four months. With walls like these, the siege can’t have been easy for either side.
From 1940 to today
For centuries the theatre lay hidden under houses and streets. In 1940, work began on a large new building at the foot of the hill, the Casa de la Cultura, for the city’s archives, library and museum. In 1951, gardeners working in front of it uncovered a vaulted passage. At first the excavators thought it might have been one of the gates of the Roman walls. Then they found rows of seats, and realised that it must have been the entrance to a theatre. Most of the theatre, however, lay under the new building.
There followed decades of excavation and debate, and in 1995 the Casa de la Cultura was demolished. Rebuilding the theatre was harder than expected, because many of its missing stones were now part of the Alcazaba. On 15 September 2011 it reopened with an evening of music and poetry, its first performances in many centuries. Next to it, a visitor centre has glass walls engraved with the Latin text of the city’s Roman law, the Lex Flavia Malacitana.
Travel with Ibn Battuta, the man who never stopped travelling, in our premium lesson for B2–C1 students, with its gamebook The Traveller’s Tale.
Language: modals of deduction about the past
| How sure? | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Almost certain it happened | must have + past participle | The builders must have known where to find stone. |
| Possible | might / may / could have + past participle | It might have been a gate in the walls. |
| Almost certain it didn’t happen | can’t / couldn’t have + past participle | The siege can’t have been easy. |
⚠️ The opposite of must have is can’t have, not mustn’t have.
Fact or not sure?
| Statement | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The theatre was found in 1951 | Fact | All the sources agree. |
| It was built under Augustus | Not sure | Most guides say so; some sources date it to the 1st century BC. |
| Stones from the theatre are in the Alcazaba | Fact | Roman columns and capitals can be seen in its walls. |
| The Casa de la Cultura was demolished in 1995 | Fact | Most sources say 1995; one says 1994. |
Read both texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
Choose the best answer.
1. What did the Moors use the old theatre for?
2. What is the coracha?
3. What was Málaga famous for, according to Ibn Battuta?
4. Why couldn’t the whole theatre be seen after 1951?
5. Why was rebuilding the theatre harder than expected?
6. What is engraved on the glass of the visitor centre?
Write must have, might have or can’t have.
7. There are Roman columns in the Alcazaba walls. The builders taken them from the theatre.
8. At first, the excavators thought the vault been a gate in the walls.
9. The siege lasted four months. It been easy to take such strong walls.
10. They found rows of seats. It been a theatre.
11. The theatre was hidden for centuries. People in 1900 known it was there.
12. Nobody knows why the theatre was abandoned. There been a fire, or simply a change of fashion.
Choose the best answer.
13. Which sentence is correct?
14. “It mustn’t have been easy” is wrong. What do we say?
15. “The Romans might have performed comedies here.” How sure is the speaker?
16. Which sentence is about the present, not the past?
Where do these words come from?
17. Theatre comes from Greek theatron. What did it mean?
18. Quarry, a place where stone is cut, comes from Old French. It is linked to Latin quadrus. What did it mean?
19. Castle comes from Latin castellum. What was a castellum?
A morning on the hill
Route: the Roman theatre and its visitor centre on Calle Alcazabilla → the Alcazaba (look for the Roman columns in the walls) → up the path beside the coracha to Gibralfaro, or take bus 35 from the Paseo del Parque → the walls of Gibralfaro for the view. A joint ticket for the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro is usually available. Check opening times before you go.
Your task: find an old object or building near you and write five deductions about its past with must have, might have and can’t have.
From the Romans to 1487
Málaga’s hill is a lesson in how cities reuse themselves. The Roman theatre, dated by most guides to the reign of Augustus and in use until about the 3rd century, was cut into the slope in the Greek manner, with seats for the elite near the stage and for the humbler citizens higher up. When the Hammudid rulers began the Alcazaba in the 11th century, the abandoned theatre became a convenient quarry, and Roman columns and capitals were built into Muslim walls, where they remain. Had the builders not needed stone so close at hand, more of the theatre might have survived; had it survived intact, the Alcazaba would arguably be poorer.
Yusuf I of Granada added the castle of Gibralfaro around 1340 and joined it to the Alcazaba by a walled corridor, the coracha, creating one of the most formidable complexes in al-Andalus. When Ibn Battuta passed through in the 14th century, he counted Málaga among the largest and most beautiful towns of al-Andalus, praising its figs and its golden lustreware. In 1487, the fortifications held the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella at bay for some four months; if the walls had been weaker, the siege would have ended sooner, and the terms imposed on the city might have been less severe.
From 1940 to 2011
In 1940, work began at the foot of the hill on the Palacio de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos, the Casa de la Cultura, a building that would house the city’s archives, library and museum. In 1951, gardeners working in front of it uncovered a vaulted passage, first interpreted as a gate in the Roman walls; the discovery of stepped seating soon revealed it to be the main entrance to a theatre, most of which lay beneath the new building’s foundations.
For more than four decades, two goods were in conflict: a working cultural centre, itself part of the city’s 20th-century history, and an ancient monument that could not be seen while the centre stood on it. In 1995 the decision was taken to demolish the Casa de la Cultura. The theatre was excavated and restored, a task complicated by the fact that many of its stones had long since become part of the Alcazaba, and on 15 September 2011 it reopened with an evening of music and poetry. If the gardeners had not dug where they did in 1951, the theatre would still be hidden; if the city had not chosen to demolish, visitors today would see only a fragment of it.
Language: third and mixed conditionals
| What we imagine | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A different past, with a different past result | If + had + pp, would have + pp | If the walls had been weaker, the siege would have ended sooner. |
| A different past, with a different present result | If + had + pp, would + verb | If the gardeners hadn’t dug in 1951, the theatre would still be hidden. |
| Less certain results | might / could have + pp | More of the theatre might have survived. |
| Formal: inversion without if | Had + subject + pp | Had the builders not needed stone, more might have survived. |
| A cause that prevented a result | But for / Without + noun | But for the demolition, we would see only a fragment. |
Evidence and debate
| Claim | What we can say |
|---|---|
| The theatre dates from the reign of Augustus | The usual view in guides; some sources say the 1st century BC. |
| Ibn Battuta praised Málaga’s figs and golden pottery | His travel book does; the exact wording depends on the translation. |
| Demolishing the Casa de la Cultura was the right decision | A matter of judgement: it was controversial at the time, and some still regret the loss of a 20th-century building. |
Debate: When an ancient monument lies under a modern building, which should win? Think of the Casa de la Cultura, and of cities like Rome, where every new metro line meets the past. Would you demolish a 20th-century building to uncover a Roman one?
Read both texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. What does “a lesson in how cities reuse themselves” refer to?
2. Why would the Alcazaba “arguably be poorer” if the theatre had survived intact?
3. What were the “two goods in conflict”?
4. Why does the writer mention that the Casa de la Cultura was “itself part of the city’s 20th-century history”?
5. What is the link between the walls and the terms of 1487, according to the writer?
6. How does the writer treat the claim about Ibn Battuta in the evidence table?
Write the missing words.
7. If the walls (be) weaker, the siege would have ended sooner.
8. If Ferdinand’s army had been smaller, the siege (end) differently.
9. If the gardeners hadn’t dug in 1951, the theatre (still / be) hidden today.
10. the builders not needed stone, more of the theatre might have survived.
11. the demolition, we would see only a fragment of the theatre.
12. If the Moors had found stone elsewhere, the theatre (survive) intact.
Choose the best answer.
13. Which sentence is correct?
14. Which is a mixed conditional (past cause, present result)?
15. Which is the most formal?
16. “But for the gardeners, the theatre would still be hidden.” What does it mean?
Where do these words come from?
17. Lustreware, pottery with a metallic shine, takes its name from Latin lustrare. What did it mean?
18. An arena was originally covered in…
19. Archaeology joins Greek archaios and logia. What do they mean?
A morning on the hill
Visit: the theatre and visitor centre (read the Lex Flavia on the glass), the Alcazaba (count the Roman columns in its walls), then Gibralfaro, on foot beside the coracha or by bus 35, for the view over the theatre, the port and the bay. Check opening times and the joint ticket before you go.
Write (220–260 words): an opinion essay. Should a modern building ever be demolished to uncover an ancient one? Use the Casa de la Cultura as your main example, and at least four conditional structures, including one inversion.