Located along the Bay of Cádiz in the Atlantic Ocean, it is halfway between Portugal and Gibraltar, is predominantly a tourist town, a vacation/holiday destination for travelers from all over Europe.

In 1297, Sancho IV awarded the town to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán in honour of his defence of Tarifa.

Construction of the Castillo de la Luna (Castle of the Moon) had begun in 1295, two years prior to the bequest to Pérez de Guzmán, as part of Sancho IV's effort to develop strong coastal defenses, especially near the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

Once contributing up to 80 percent of Rota's economy directly or indirectly, the significant decrease in the American presence since about 1995, and the city's modern infrastructures that enable those remaining to commute readily from surrounding towns and cities, the base has given way to tourism as the leading source of revenue.

The surrounding area is used for agriculture; the predominant crops are cotton and sunflowers, as well as sweet green peppers, tomatoes, and pumpkins.

[4] A traditional dish is the arranque made with chopped bread, tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, salt and olive oil.

The Foundation Ruiz Mateos delivers a biannual award called Villa de Rota in the field of the plastic arts, music and literature.

[9] This constitutes nowadays an extensive art collection which is being shown in the Museum Ruiz Mateos since opened its doors on 4 February 2005.

[10] This museum gathers a total of 102 works composed of oil paintings, watercolors, engravings and sculptures, and includes all first prizes awarded in the course of the national contests “Villa de Rota” as well as individual donations received.