Ronda, perched over the dizzying gorge of El Tajo, is Rilke’s “dreamed-of city”, the “jasmine-scented repose” of Borges and, for the thousands of tourists who visit it and can’t believe their eyes, the epitome of the experience never to be surpassed. It is as though the great cultures, drawn by the astonishing beauty of the landscape, had agreed to leave behind traces of their best qualities in this place.

A hurried visit will show the tourist that he is not in just any ordinary monumental city. His attention will surely be drawn to the construction works that have made of Ronda an urban area in which the artistic and historical legacies, in rare conjunction with nature, greet the visitor with the naturalness of water flowing in a river.

The Puente Nuevo (New Bridge), which along with the Plaza de Toros (Bullring) of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda (Royal Riding School of Ronda) is one of the symbols of the city, was built in the last third of the eighteenth century. Before this formidable architectural work was begun, however, there was a previous project in 1735 whose execution took eight months. This bridge collapsed six years after its completion, so a decade later the architect José Martín de Aldehuela was put in charge of a new bridge project. The construction work lasted more than 40 years and the Puente Nuevo was finished in 1793. It has a height of 98 metres and links the old and modern districts of the city, whose urban expansion soon became a reality. The view from this point of El Tajo and the hanging houses that look out over the precipice is spectacular. The Interpretive Centre, located inside the bridge, provides information not only on aspects of this feat of architecture but also on the entire Ronda region.

The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda (Royal Riding School of Ronda) was founded in 1572 by Felipe II. At the time it was a facility devoted to equestrian exercises, including bullfighting. It came to be used as a bullring beginning in the eighteenth century when bullfighters on foot replaced horsemen in bullfighting events. Faced with the increasing popularity of bullfighters, the Real Maestranza de Caballería decided to build a bullring. According to some indications José Martín Aldehuela, the architect of the Puente Nuevo, was put in charge of its construction. After six years of work the ring was inaugurated in 1785 with a bullfight in which the masters Pedro Romero and Pepe Hillo participated. The bullring presents a decidedly monumental appearance due to the lavish use of stone in its construction and to the 136 Tuscan-style columns forming 68 arches. Some people note a certain similarity between this bullring and the interior courtyard of the Palace of Carlos V in Granada. The seating area has five rows of bleachers in two stories, all of them covered, and the actual ring measures 66 metres across. The Ronda Bullring has an interesting bullfighting museum and is considered one of the oldest in Spain and perhaps the most beautiful of them all.

The Marqués de Salvatierra Palace stands next to the Padre Jesús neighbourhood in the historic quarter par excellence of Ronda. It is a palatial dwelling from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The main façade is dominated by a splendid Baroque stone entrance with a lintelled door. Its most notable features are its Corinthian-style columns and a majestic balcony of Ronda wrought iron. On its pediment are shown four naked figures; the males in a mocking attitude while the females modestly cover their private parts. These sculptures hold up the lintel on which appears the coat of arms of the Vasco Martín de Salvatierra family, who directed the city’s destiny after the Christian Conquest. The architecture of this palace’s interior is equally noble but much more austere than that of the façade.