Pablo Ruiz Picasso’s early years are closely connected with the city of Malaga, where he was born in October 1881. The artist’s childhood was marked by the art world in which his father moved, the light of the Mediterranean, bullfights at La Malagueta...

When you step inside the Picasso Foundation and Birthplace Museum, for example, you are venturing into the childhood of history’s most universal artist. His talent fills every corner of this building, which has been declared a Historic-Artistic Monument of National Interest. On the first floor, visitors also have the chance to take a look inside a late 19th-century Malaga household. Other rooms, meanwhile, feature valuable Picasso artworks including ceramics, graphics, engravings, illustrated books... The Foundation also organises numerous temporary exhibitions and other complementary cultural events.

Picasso’s first playground, and perhaps also where he drew his first lines in the sand, was the Plaza de la Merced. It was here, in this bustling, romantic Malaga square, that his parents met, and it was also the home of politicians, such as General Riego, sculptors such as Fernando Ortiz, writers such as Juan José Relosillas, architects such as Gerónimo Cuervo and painters such as Bernardo Ferrándiz. The obelisk dedicated to General Torrijos is a particular landmark.

The Malaga Picasso Museum is based in the Buenavista Palace, a 16th-century Renaissance building. More than 200 artworks, including paintings, sketches, sculptures, ceramics and engravings, bear testimony to the prolific career of Pablo Picasso. Inside the building visitors can also see the Phoenician remains discovered during refurbishment work on the palace. In addition to the permanent collection, it also hosts major temporary exhibitions, as well as regular complementary events, such as workshops, conferences, concerts, courses, etc.

The Church of Santiago, meanwhile, on Calle Granada, was where Picasso was christened in 1881. It is the oldest church in Malaga (dating from 1490), although all that remains the original facade, covered over, is the central doorway, built in the Mudejar style as is the nice tower. The interior, which was built on the site of a former mosque, is of Gothic-Mudejar construction.

From top to bottom and left to right, a number of sites connected with Picasso: the El Pimpi tavern, the former Jewish quarter, the María Cristina Conservatory, the area around the Cathedral and the La Malagueta bullring.

Pablo Ruiz Picasso lives in Malaga. He can be spotted in the historic city centre, the bay, the La Malagueta bullring, the magnificent house of his birth and his splendid museum. The indelible mark which Malaga left on Picasso has been generously returned by the artist. Picasso inhabits this city, lurks around many of its corners, is evident in its restless soul. This is the Malaga of Picasso.