Ronda appears “perched in the mountains, like a natural extension of the landscape” From its rocky vantage point, the city contemplates the Sierra de las Nieves and the Sierra de Grazalema, parks that have great natural wealth, with an infinity of animal and plant species. almost unique in the world, such as the Spanish fir or the mountain gall. It was Iberian, Roman, Muslim and Christian, but it was the Arabs who gave it the greatest splendor. The oldest signs of human life near Ronda can be found in the Cueva de la Pileta. Discovered in 1905 and declared a national monument. There are magnificent murals of horses, goats and fish, dating from the Paleolithic age. Acinipo, also called “Ronda la Vieja”, preserves an outstanding amphitheater and the baths of the first Roman settlement in the area. It is 20 kms from the current city of Ronda and can be visited.
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Almost 800 years of Muslim domination left their mark on Ronda. Its wall made it the impregnable city of Al-Andalus. The entrance doors to the old medina are still standing and led to the flour and oil mills, the orchards or the cemetery, hence their names. Water is one of the fundamental elements in Arab culture. The palace built in the 14th century that belonged to a Taifa king, known as La Casa del Rey Moro, hides beautiful gardens with water pipes, different botanical species, beautiful terraces that overlook the ravine and its great secret, access to La Water Mine. The Arab Baths of Ronda are the best preserved in the Iberian Peninsula. They were built in the 13th century. They are kept in very good condition with horseshoe arches and barrel vaults that open to the sky in beautiful star-shaped skylights.
Strolling through its streets we will find numerous squares, temples and palaces with various superimposed styles, such as the Palacio de Mondragón, built in the 14th century with Arab Patio and Renaissance architecture or the Iglesia Mayor de Santa Ana that presents, on the outside, a mixture of style Renaissance and Gothic and the interior is added Baroque.
In the 16th century, Felipe II founded the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda. The Plaza de Toros, one of the oldest in Spain, is considered the cradle of bullfighting. Goya’s paintings reflect the costumes associated with bullfighting festivals. The Goyescan Bullfights of Ronda currently conserve that outfit of majas with mantilla and bullfighters with sash and net.
With a rich and diverse cultural heritage, Ronda is a city with soul. Muse of writers. Inspiration of poets, majas with mantilla and bullfighters of Goyescas. Ronda is that corner of heroes-bandits, those bandits hidden in the Serranía that legends turned into romantic heroes. All the weight of history coexists with the contemporary life of its inhabitants. There is a good range of restaurants (one has two Michelin stars), shops and terraces to taste and numerous very interesting local wine cellars.
On the edge of the Tagus cornice, there is a beautiful tree-lined promenade created in the 19th century. Avenues full of trees and different botanical species lead to the very edge of the abyss. An impressive balcony overlooks the Sierra de Ronda and allows you to contemplate the buildings that seem to hang from the ravine in unforgettable sunsets that attracted many English painters of the time, many of whom settled in this beautiful city.
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Stay in Ronda
Our property Cortijo Cuevas del Marqués is situated just 15 minutes drive from Ronda and has stunning views of Ronda La Vieja