Roquetas de Mar has been a settlement of the Neolithic, Almería and Artélica cultures.
Its coastline was visited by Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, although it will not be until the 18th century when we speak of permanent settlements.
When it began its journey as a historical entity, it was constituted, like almost all Muslim places, by a defensive castle on the seashore and some hamlets grouped around it.
The town, cited in the existing documentation with the name of “Las Roquetas”, belonged then to the municipality of Enix. Its economy was based on subsistence agriculture and fishing without too much volume of catches.
Historical vestiges of its past are preserved, which deserve to be visited, such as the Torre de Roquetas, a reminder of the fortification that was built along the entire maritime border in the 14th century. The Castle of Las Roquetas or Santa Ana, currently recovered as a cultural center, was built in this tower.
The Parish Church was built in 1757. The old Roquetas was a fishing village. The countryside relied heavily on rains, which are rare in the area. Between Roquetas and Aguadulce there was then the cultivation of the vine, in the area known as Los Parrales.
The transformation of the town takes place, as has happened in the entire Campo de Dalías or the Poniente region, throughout the 20th century, first with the exploitation of the two Salinas and then with the arrival of intensive agriculture.
The great economic development of Roquetas is due to the National Institute of Colonization, which led to the transformation of this dry land area, starting with irrigated farms. This organism led to the arrival of the first colonized in the middle of the century, mostly from the interior and from the Granada coast.
It was the first municipality in which a greenhouse was built, which was such a novel and at the same time productive experience that it triggered an impressive development of this cultivation technique that has made the province of Almería, and specifically this region, famous.
Agriculture has been since then, the main source of wealth of the municipality, with a very varied production. Finally, we must also highlight the development of tourism, a sector that has become another of the fundamental pillars on which the economy of Roquetas de Mar is based. Its development began in 1964 in Aguadulce, when this population center It is declared a Center of National Tourist Interest.
Subsequently, the Roquetas and Playa Serena Urbanization was built, and the Las Salinas area, between Aguadulce and Roquetas, as well as the Playa Serena Sur Urbanization is currently being developed.
At present, this town is the second most important in the province of Almería and has very important growth expectations, especially with regard to tourism.
Source: Roquetas de Mar City Council