What to See in Ronda
www.museodelvinoderonda.es. Telephones: (+34) 952 879 735 and (+34) 607 661 900.Armiñán and Marqués de Salvatierra Streets one passes the San Sebastián minaret. It was part of a fourteenth-century mosque that was converted into a church with the name of this saint, but the church no longer exists. The minaret has a square base and its lower level preserves an exquisite horseshow arch under a lintel with keystones. The rest of it is made of bricks, and remnants can be seen on them of the glazed tile that was used in decorating it. The top level was built later so that the structure could be used as a bell tower. It was built in the seventeenth century, although its showy Baroque façade is from the eighteenth. We will arrive at the iglesia del Socorro (El Socorro church) by way of Calle Carrera de Espinel. This is a large neo-Baroque church that was built after the destruction of the previous eighteenth century structure.
Even if it means a detour from this route, mention should now be made of the Museo Joaquín Peinado, (Joaquín Peinado Museum), located in the renovated Palacio de los Marqueses de Moctezuma, on the Plaza del Gigante. It features a collection of some 200 works, including oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and graphic works of this Ronda artist, one of the most important representatives of the Paris School.
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In the eastern part of the La Ciudad neighbourhood rises the Palacio del Marqués de Salvatierra (Marquise de Salvatierra palace), whose present architecture is the result of the modifications that were carried out on the old mansion during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Corinthian column and the splendid wrought iron balcony on the façade forcefully attract the attention, while in the interior the gardens, chapel, furnishings and the parapet of the well in the courtyard are all admirable.
On Calle Santo Domingo, next to the Palacio de Salvatierra and the convent that gives its name to the street, is the Casa del Rey Moro (House of the Moorish King). Its name is due to a glazed tile representation of a Muslim king on its façade. The structure is from the eighteenth century but its appearance today is the result of the modifications made to it by the Duchess of Parcent in the early twentieth century. Its magnificent gardens were designed by Jean Claude Forestier.
A 60-metre high stairway dug out of the rock connects these two gardens with the la Mina spring. Its waters empty into the River Guadalevín and the Muslims were able to make good use of the spring, considering the lack of water in the city due to the altitude at which it was located. This Arabic work was of crucial importance during the siege of Ronda by the Christian troops.
After the collapse of the Puente Nuevo, it was decided to renovate the entrance to the Puente Viejo (Old Bridge), which again became the main link between La Ciudad and the El Mercadillo neighbourhood. Thus, the old Puerta del Puente (Bridge Gate) was replaced by another of neo-Classic design, that would be named the Arco de Felipe V (Arch of Felipe V). Next to this arch is the popular Sillón del Rey Moro (Seat of the Moorish King), which commands beautiful views.
The Puente Viejo, built in 1616 and last repaired in 1961, gives access to Calle Real, which in turn leads to the old quarter of the El Mercadillo neighbourhood. It was built outside the walls of La Ciudad to escape the high taxes that the merchants had to pay in what at the time was the city proper. With time this district would be the one that dominated the commercial activity in Ronda.
The fuente de los Ocho Caños (Fountain of the Eight Spouts) is on Calle Real. It was built at the same time as the Puerta de Felipe V, and is a simple and well-balanced stone construction that exhibits the coat of arms of the town on a pediment. It consists of two faces, one of them with the eight spouts and the other that serves as a trough. Next to the fountain is the iglesia del Padre Jesús (Padre Jesús church), with its beautiful Renaissance belfry. This church was built in the sixteenth century but its interior decoration, based on gesso artwork, is from the eighteenth century. The Madre de Dios convent attached to the aforementioned church, was also built in the sixteenth century and its masonry structure combines Gothic-Renaissance and Mudéjar features.
Beyond the entrance to the Jardines de Cuenca, visitors will find a series of balconies leaning out to the Tajo and its precipice. The Jardines de Cuenca are normally crowded, because the views of the Puente Nuevo from this spot are really stunning. Equipped with benches, this wooded area is perfect to take a break.
Also from Real Street you can climb up Santa Cecilia Street, where you will find a shrine dedicated to St. Cecilia. This is a curious and artistic work from 1734 that houses an altarpiece with a painting of the Virgin. On two of its columns there are depictions of four hanged figures, undoubtedly related to the public executions that were performed here centuries ago.
On Plaza de los Descalzos, reached by Calle de los Dolores, stands the Santa Cecilia church.
The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda (Royal Equestrian Training Centre of Ronda), the first of those founded by Phillip II for the military and equestrian training of the nobility-a training that also included bullfighting festivities- had its first headquarters on the Plaza Mayor. Two centuries later, construction began on the Plaza de Toros (Bullring), following plans drawn up by Martín Aldehuela, the designer of the Puente Nuevo. On its neo-Classic façade are two sturdy Tuscan columns that support a divided pediment on which appears the royal coat of arms, and this all frames a wrought iron balcony decorated with bullfighting motifs.
The seating area has a capacity of 5,000 and is unusual in that it is completely covered; 136 Tuscan columns hold up a double row of arches. Another of the bullring’s peculiarities is that the barrier is of stone. It was inaugurated in 1875 with a bullfight programme in which Pedro Romero and Pepe Hillo, two true bullfighting legends, participated.
The Museo Taurino (Bullfighting Museum) is located on the ground level of the bullring. It is mainly dedicated to the two great Ronda bullfighting dynasties, that of the Romero and of the Ordóñez families. Ronda’s Plaza de Toros is the second most visited monument, after the Nerja cave, in the province of Málaga (more than 400,000 people per year).
Right beside the Plaza de Toros extend the jardines de Blas Infante (Blas Infante Gardens), where some time ago the original Espinel theatre was located that was the site of the Andalusian Congress of 1918. This green space is extended by a cornice-like promenade along the edge of the tableland almost 200 metres above the valley of the River Guadalevín, with incomparable views of a large part of the Ronda region. The promenade continues through the Alameda del Tajo (El Tajo Grove). Here stands the iglesia de la Merced (La Merced church), which holds the arm of Santa Teresa that was so beloved by the dictator Franco that he included it in his private reliquary.
The hotel Reina Victoria is in these environs. It was built in 1906 by Lord Farrington, a true pioneer of British tourism. The Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke stayed in one of its rooms between 1911 and 1912, and this room still preserves the original furniture and a number of photographs and letters from the poet who dedicated some of his writings to Ronda.
The Mozarabic monastery of the Virgen de la Cabeza is about 2 kilometres from the city. This complex includes living quarters for monks, cells for a small community and a church carved out of the rock. This is a work by Christians in the ninth and tenth centuries during the time of the Arabic domination. The simple church consists of three naves: a main one with the altar in the background; a second nave also with an altar, at the foot of which there is an opening that gives access to the crypt, and a third nave that probably served as a sacristy.
The Arabic Bathhouses and the Acinipo ruins have been saved for last on the tour due to their historic and artistic interest. The latter archaeological site is not actually in the city but rather in the surrounding area.
The Arabic Bathhouses, located in the ancient Jewish quarter, were built in the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century. Despite their extraordinary architectural interest they were abandoned-Christian morality did not permit certain practices-and the floodwaters from the River Guadalevín eventually buried them. When the Duchess of Parcent ordered the construction of some gardens in this area the first remains of the bathhouses came to light but no attention was paid to them then, either, until the site was acquired by the State in 1935.
The excavations that have been done to date have allowed the recovery of the three chambers of the bathhouse (cold, warm and hot), which are linked by semicircular arches and covered with barrel-vaulted roofs. The bathhouse vaults are perforated by star-shaped openings that filter the sunlight and create a shadowy effect that is very conducive to rest. Parts of the boilers and of the water pipes have been preserved, and experts agree that it is one of the best-preserved bathhouses from that era in all of Spain.
The yacimiento romano de Acinipo (Roman archaeological site of Acinipo) was traditionally and erroneously called Ronda la Vieja (Old Ronda) due to the belief that this was the first site of the city, a theory that was later proven false. It is 21 kilometres from Ronda on a plateau with an average altitude of 980 metres, and commands extremely broad panoramic views of the region. According to Pliny and Ptolemy, Acinipo belonged to Celtic Beturia but in Roman times it became one of the main cities of Betica.
Only the theatre has been preserved from the ancient Roman city. It was built in the first century B. C. on uneven ground in the Greek fashion, which is why the cavea is carved out of the rock. A large part of the seating area is reasonably well preserved, which is also true of the orchestra and the front of the stage, which is made of building stone without mortar. Ruins have also been found of some bathhouses, two dwellings, the official temple, the basilica and the porticos.
The town of Ronda comprises three districts that are very well-differentiated geographically and almost as well architecturally: the original Roman and medieval nucleus, known as la Ciudad (the City); the barrio del Mercadillo (Mercadillo neighbourhood) which lies to the north and is linked to the first by three bridges over the Tajo and is the business district and the one that covers the most area, and the barrio de San Francisco (San Francisco neighbourhood) to the south, which like El Mercadillo began to be built in the sixteenth century. Given the great number of city sights, the Tourism Office offers a very useful tourist card with information on timetables, prices, websites, etc. For more info, call the local Tourism Office at (+34) 952 187 119.
Visits to Ronda customarily begin at the Plaza de España in the El Mercadillo neighbourhood, which is the site of the Parador Hotel, formerly the Town Hall. From here, one crosses to La Ciudad, that is to say to the most ancient district, over the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge), which is without a doubt the best-known construction in Ronda. It was born of the necessity of direct communication between the city’s oldest district, and what, even in the eighteenth century, had already become the new Ronda.
The bridge was opened in 1735 but six years later high waters of the River Guadalevín brought it down with the loss of 50 lives. The second project, which is the one we know today, was the responsibility of Juan Martín de Aldehuela. Work began in 1751 and was completed in 1793. Its creator received all kinds of praise for the way he was able to make the imposing 98-metre tall structure join perfectly with the vertical gorge of the Tajo. The road surface of the bridge is held up by three semicircular arches, and an enclosed area over the central one was used in times past as a jail.
It is precisely on one of these main arches that the Puente Nuevo Visitor Centre sits. It is a little museum displaying dozens of wall texts which describe the construction of the bridge, from the first ideas and failures to the present time. The Visitor Centre highlights the final project by Martín Aldehuela, and visitors will know how this impressive civil engineering wonder was developed.
Across the bridge and to the left is the Santo Domingo convent, which was founded in the era of the Catholic Monarchs and for years was the seat of the Tribunal of the inquisition. To the right, on Calle Tenorio, is the modernist-style casa de San Juan Bosco (house of San Juan Bosco), whose whimsical gardens command magnificent views. Very close by is Calle Beato Fray Diego José de Cádiz, with the seventeenth- century church of the Virgen de la Paz (Virgin of Peace, patron saint of Ronda church). The remains of the aforementioned friar Diego José de Cádiz rest in an urn at the feet of the patron saint, whose "camarin" (image compartment) is on an interesting Rococo altar.
The tour continues at the Casa del Gigante (House of the Giant) a dwelling from the Islamic era that is perfectly preserved, despite the modifications it has naturally undergone, and that have changed part of its structure. It seems to have been built in the fourteenth century, according to some historians, based on the similarity of its gesso artwork to that in the Alhambra that was done during the reign of Muhammad V. The interior is notable for its central courtyard, the water tank, the hall of the north corridor and the plant motif artwork decorating the arches that give access to the sleeping quarters.
The Palacio de Mondragón (Mondragón palace), now the headquarters of the Museo de Ronda y la Serranía (Museum of Ronda and the Highlands) was inhabited in the fourteenth century, according to legend, by King Abomelic, son of the Sultan of Fez, and later by the Nasrid governor Hamed el Zegrí. After the Christian conquest it became the property of Melchor de Mondragón, and Fernando the Catholic stayed here in 1501 when he came to Ronda because of the Moorish uprising. It later passed into the hands of a minister of Carlos II, Fernando de Valenzuela.
Successive modifications ultimately eliminated its most characteristic Arabic features but its architecture continues to be an example of harmony between lines and volumes. Its façade, of two levels with Doric and Ionic pillars and an arched pediment, is outstanding for the elegance of its composition. This majestic building is organised around three harmonious interior courtyards, one of them of Renaissance style.
During the Muslim era the main square of Ronda was located in the highest part of the city, a space that we now know as the plaza de la Duquesa de Parcent (Plaza of the Duchess of Parcent). During Arabic rule the main buildings of the city were found at this place: the Alcázar, the mosque, the market, the jail, etc. The square’s current design is the result of a project carried out in the nineteenth century that was later extended and beautified by the Duquesa de Parcent. She put the landscape artist Jean Claude Forestier, who was responsible for the Bois de Boulogne and the María Luisa Park in Seville, in charge of building a garden here. In this park is the statue of the Ronda writer and musician Vicente Espinel (1550-1624).
The iglesia mayor de Santa María de la Encarnación (Santa María de la Encarnación principal church) was built over the former main mosque between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. It therefore exhibits different architectural features from different styles, something that can be observed very clearly in the church’s interior. Part of the Arabic mosque’s mihrab (sacred niche indicating the direction of Mecca) is preserved, the entrance arch, decorated with gesso artwork from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The church was begun in 1508 in the late Gothic style, and the central of its three naves used to have a Mudéjar roof that was replaced with semi-spherical vaults after the earthquake of 1580, which caused structural damage to the church. There are seven chapels at the front of the church, which is done in Renaissance style, and many other details are clearly Baroque.
The choir room merits special note. It was built of walnut and cedar around the first third of the eighteenth century. The Virgen de los Dolores (Virgin of Sorrows), who looks down from one altarpiece, is attributed either to Martínez Montañés or to La Roldana, who whatever the case were both excellent image artists. The main Gothic façade is nearly hidden by the sixteenth-century balcony, while the square-based tower is in the Mudéjar style. The Casita de la Torre (Little House of the Tower) next to the bell tower is a small Mudéjar-style chapel in whose decoration can be seen blind horseshoe arches.
The Castillo del Laurel, a fortress that was ordered built in the second century BC by Scipio Emilianus, used to stand where the Sagrado Corazón Salesian College is today. The Arabs converted it into an alcazaba (main palace and fortress) that was occupied by the Christians and finally by French troops in the early nineteenth century, who blew up the fortress when they abandoned it in their retreat in 1812.
The former Cuartel de Milicias (Militia Garrison), at present the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) occupies one of the sides of this plaza. This is a large building whose two upper floors are opened by arcades. It was built between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and its interior is notable for the stairway’s Mudéjar coffered ceiling and for the meeting hall. Two other religious structures face this plaza, the iglesia de la Caridad (La Caridad church) and the Santa Isabel de los Angeles convent, both of which were built in the sixteenth century.
The Plaza Duquesa de Parcent gives access to Calle Escalona and that street leads to Calle Armiñán, which connects to Cuesta de las Imágenes, the site of the Espíritu Santo church. It was built on the site formerly occupied by an Almohaddefensive tower that was destroyed during the siege by the Christian troops. Work on this church was finished in 1505, and the exterior of the structure is noteworthy for its sobriety and for the almost fortress-like aspect conferred by the buttresses of its high walls. The interior consists of a single nave combining Gothic and Renaissance features. The Baroque-style altarpiece of the main chapel houses the painting with the title "Venida del Espíritu Santo" (Coming of the Holy Spirit) and a Virgin of La Antigua that shows Byzantine influences.
In the southern part of this church is the Puerta de Almocábar (Almocábar Gate, a name that refers to the ancient necropolis that used to be in this area; "al-maqàbir" is Arabic for "cemetery"). Its construction has been dated between the late thirteenth century and the early fourteenth centuries. This very solid structure is flanked by two semicircular towers with three horseshoe arches providing openings between them. The Puerta de Carlos V (Carlos V Gate) was placed on its left side in the seventeenth century. It is in Renaissance style and is crowned by the Habsburg coat of arms.
On the other side of these gates stretches the Alameda de San Francisco, on which stands the Franciscan convent which was founded in 1664 and rebuilt in the mid-twentieth century. Calle San Francisco leads to the convent of the same name, which was built where the Catholic King set up his encampment. The San Francisco convent was completed in the sixteenth century and its structure includes Gothic and Mudéjar features. Despite the restorations that were necessitated by the damage done to it during the Napoleonic invasion and the Civil War it still preserves a magnificent gate from the time of Isabella.
On Calle Armiñán the traveller will have the opportunity to visit three very representative Ronda museums. The Museo del Bandolero (Bandit Museum, number 65) visually narrates one of the most characteristic phenomena and one of those that has generated the most literature about nineteenth century Ronda. The Museo de la Caza (Hunting Museum, number 59) deals with a secular tradition found throughout the Highlands, and the Museo Temático Lara (Lara Theme Museum, number 29) in the palatial house of the Condes de la Conquista (Counts of the Conquest) exhibits to the public a remarkable collection of antiques and assorted objects of art. Very close to Armiñán Street, on 2 González Campos Street, lies the Ronda Wine Museum, which has 12 themed rooms showcasing the history, philosophy, mythology and making process of wine in Ronda. The museum has a wine-tasting school, wine weekends, tastings and social events. Website:
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