Welcome from the Local Congress Chair

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

It is with great pleasure and honor that Malaga host the 13th Congress of the European Society for Sexual Medicine, November 14th – 17th 2010, at the Malaga Trade Fair and Congress Centre.

Malaga with its strategic position to the Mediterranean Sea has always made Malaga an attractive zone for foreign invasions. The first settlement in Malaga was made by the Phoenicians who founded the city more than 3000 years ago under the name of Malaka and became a commercial center for the region and exploited for its richness in metals such as silver and copper.

The Phoenician period lasted until about 550 b.c. when Malaga was conquered by the Carthaginians who ended in 218 b.c. with the Romans entering Malaga and other parts of Spain. The Romans created an economical and cultural center in Malaga and made significant constructions such as the port of Malaga and the roman theatre. Upon Roman Empire fall, the Visigoths conquered Malaga in 623 and dominated the city until 711 when the Moorish took over. Of that period we have the two most important monuments in Malaga, the fortress Alcazaba, which was started in the 11th century, and the castles/ fortress Gibralfaro, which was not finished until the beginning of the 15th century. In the 14th century the first Christian attends to defeat the Moorish sovereign, but it was not until 100 years later in 1487 when the Christians finally defeated the Moors. After this, Malaga started to change its appearance from a Muslim to a Christian city. In 1528 began the construction of the cathedral of Malaga, which was finished in 1598. During the 17th-18th centuries the town was hit by several epidemics, earthquakes and important inundations, which ruined several constructions like the expansion of the harbor. In the 19th century, Napoleon also made his entrance in the town, but the French domination only lasted two years from 1810 to 1812.

As a consequence of its history and tradition, Malaga is a cosmopolitan city and cultural center for the country southern part, with Spain’s second largest port and third largest international airport supporting the more than 100  international conventions celebrated every year. This terrific environment, in addition to the well known hard work of the Scientific Committee, adumbrates an unforgettable scientific and social 13th ESSM congress, hosted by the Asociación Española de Andrología Medicina Sexual y Reproductiva (ASESA).

We are just missing you.
It would be an honor and a pleasure to welcome you in Malaga.

Antonio Martín Morales, MD
Chairman of the 13th ESSM Congress 2010