History

The municipal AREA: the 4th-century geographer Rufo Festo Avieno described the AREA as the home of the temple to the goddess Noctiluca, or Moon Temple. Also from this period are the remains of a Roman villa in Torre de Benagalbon. On El Castillon hill in Rincon de la Victoria, the Romans built a fortress to protect the village of Bezmiliana. With the passing of the centuries, this fortress was also used by the Moslems and the AREA enjoyed times of great prosperity based on agriculture, tuna fishing and the sale of these products, which lasted until its capture by the Catholic Monarchs.
The flight of the village"s morisco (Moslem converts to Christianity) inhabitants, their definitive expulsion in 1570, and the fear generated by the frequent attacks of Berber pirates left this coastal strip practically uninhabited in the 16th century. The few who remained settled around the old Benagalbon Farm (a name derived from the Arabic Bena Galb-un, meaning "the tribe of Galb-un"), thus founding the village of the same name, which was to be the most important population centre in the AREA until the late 19th century.
During the reign of Charles III, the royal highway from Malaga to Velez was built, and alongside a fortress -known as Bezmiliana Fort House- to provide coastal defence against the possible attacks of English troops stationed in Gibraltar. In the shelter of this garrison, Bezmiliana Inn appeared, and the population gradually began to grow, until, on 17 February 1950, a Town Hall was built here. In the early 20th century, the settlement"s name was changed from Venta de Bezmiliana to Rincon de la Victoria, a name derived from La Victoria Monastery, home to monks of the Minim order, in Malaga.