A statue of a bull outside la Plaza de Toros

• Local Geography:– City in province of Málaga– located about 100 km (~62 miles) from the city of Málaga– within the community of Andalusia

• Population: 35,512 • very mountainous area about 750 m (about half a mile) above sea

level• First settled by the early Celts• Had Roman, then Moorish rulers• This was reflected most prominently in the city’s architectural style• The Catholic Spain took control in 1485

The EpochsPrehistoric

– Cueva de la Pileta, a cave with splendid wall-paintings,– Dolmen de Chopo. (acropolis-like)

• Romans – Remains of the Roman settlement Acinipo– The amphitheater is particularly well conserved.

• Moors – Ronda was one of the major towns in Moorish Spain. – Arabian bathes– bridge Puente Viejo– two small palaces, Casa del Gigante and Casa de

Mondragón

• Reconquest – monastery Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor - built at the

place where before had been the Moorish mosque.

• More Recent Epochs – Los Puentos– La Plaza de Toros

Los PuentosThe Rio Guadalevín (Guadalevin River) runs through the city,

dividing it in two halvesIt creates the El Tajo canyon (seen on second slide) which

the city overlooksThis canyon creates a need for 3 bridges:• Puento Romano• Puento Viejo- built in 1616, older than puento nuevo (as

the name suggests)• Puento Nuevo- tallest, completed in 1793, seen in back

ground

Plaza de toros• Another important

site in Ronda is the Plaza de Toros

• Oldest bullfighting ring in Spain that is still used– though not very

often.• Built in 1784 by

architect José Martin de Aldehuela also designed Puente Nuevo. – Neoclassical

Interesting Facts

• Famous men resided in Ronda for many years– Orson Welles– Ernest Hemingway

• Both wrote about its beauty, contributing to its popularity. – Hemingway's, though, describes the murder

of loyalists early on in the Spanish Civil War by being tossed from El Tajo by Franco’s forces in For Whom the Bell Tolls.

• There is not much information on Ronda on the internet

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronda

• http://www.red2000.com/spain/ronda/index.html