Ronda () is a town in the Spanish
province of Málaga
The province of Málaga ( es, Provincia de Málaga ) is located in Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and by the provinces of Cádiz to the west, Seville to the northwest, Córdoba to the north, and Granada to ...
. It is located about west of the city of
Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
, within the
autonomous community
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
of
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep
chasm
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics.
Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben w ...
that carries the
Guadalevín
The Guadalevín is a tributary of the river Guadiaro in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. Its gorge divides the city of Ronda where it is spanned by three bridges, ''Puente Nuevo'', ''Puente Viejo'' and '' Puente Romano''.
The following is a translatio ...
River and divides the town.
It is now one of the towns and villages that is included in the
Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park
The Sierra de las Nieves National Park ( es, Parque Nacional de la Sierra de las Nieves) is a national park in the Sierra de las Nieves range, Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located behind Marbella and to the east of the road to Ronda from the C ...
.
History
Around the city are remains of prehistoric settlements dating to the
Neolithic Age
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
, including the
rock paintings
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...
of
Cueva de la Pileta
Cueva de la Pileta (''Cave of the Pool'' in English) is a cave in the province of Málaga (Spain) which has cave paintings and was discovered in 1905.
Investigation
It was investigated by Abbe Henri Breuil, a French Catholic Church, Catholic prie ...
. Ronda was, however, first settled by the early
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
s, who called it Arunda in the sixth century BC. Later
Phoenician settlers established themselves nearby to found
Acinipo
Acinipo was a city about 20 kilometers from Ronda, in the Spanish province of Málaga, believed to have been founded by retired soldiers from the Roman legions more than 2,000 years ago. The remaining ruins include a Roman theater still in use tod ...
(sometimes referred to as ''Ronda la Vieja'', Old Ronda). The current Ronda is of Roman origins, having been founded as a fortified post in the
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
, by
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...
. Ronda received the title of city at the time of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
.
In the fifth century AD, Ronda was conquered by the
Suebi
The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...
, led by
Rechila
Rechila (died 448) was the Suevic king of Galicia from 438 until his death. There are few primary sources for his life, but Hydatius was a contemporary Christian (non- Arian) chronicler in Galicia.
When his father, Hermeric, turned ill in 438, h ...
, being reconquered in the following century by the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, under whose rule Acinipo was abandoned. Later, the
Visigoth
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
king
Leovigild
Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or ''Leovigildo'' (Spanish and Portuguese), ( 519 – 586) was a Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania from 568 to 586. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a law allowing equal rights between the ...
captured the city. Ronda was part of the Visigoth realm until 713, when it fell to the Umayyad troops, who named it Hisn Ar-Rundah ("Castle of Rundah") and made it the capital of the
Takurunna province.
It was the hometown of the
polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
Abbas Ibn Firnas
Abu al-Qasim Abbas ibn Firnas ibn Wirdas al-Takurini ( ar, أبو القاسم عباس بن فرناس بن ورداس التاكرني; c. 809/810 – 887 A.D.), also known as Abbas ibn Firnas ( ar, عباس ابن فرناس), Latinized Armen ...
(810–887), an
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
,
alleged aviator,
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
,
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
, Muslim poet, and
Andalusian musician.
After the disintegration of the
caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and parts o ...
, Ronda became the capital of a small kingdom ruled by the Berber
Banu Ifran
The Banu Ifran ( ar, بنو يفرن, ''Banu Yafran'') or Ifranids, were a Zenata Berber tribe prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. In the 8th century, they established a kingdom in the central Maghreb, with ...
, the
taifa of Ronda
The Taifa of Ronda () was a medieval Berber taifa kingdom centered in Moorish al-Andalus in what is now southern Spain. It existed from 1039 to 1065. The taifa was ruled by a family from the Berber Banu Ifran tribe of North Africa. Its capital wa ...
. During this period, Ronda gained most of its Islamic architectural heritage. In 1065, Ronda was conquered by the
taifa of Seville
The Taifa of Seville ( ''Ta'ifat-u Ishbiliyyah'') was an Arab kingdom which was ruled by the Abbadid dynasty. It was established in 1023 and lasted until 1091, in what is today southern Spain and Portugal. It gained independence from the Calipha ...
led by
Abbad II al-Mu'tadid
Abu ʿAmr ʿAbbad II al-Muʿtadid (; died 28 February 1069), a member of the Abbadid dynasty, was the second independent emir of Seville (reigned 1042–1069) in Al-Andalus. His father, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad, had established the Taifa o ...
. Both the poet
Salih ben Sharif al-Rundi
Abu Muhammad Salih b. Abi Sharif ar-Rundi () (or Abu-l-Tayyib/ Abu-l-Baqa Salih b. Sharif al-Rundi) was a poet, writer, and literary critic from al-Andalus who wrote in Arabic. His fame is based on his ''nuniyya'' entitled "" ''Rithaa' ul-Andalus'' ...
(1204–1285) and the
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
scholar
Ibn Abbad al-Rundi
Ibn Abbad al-Rundi () (in full, Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim An-nafzi Al-himyari Ar-rundi) (1333–1390) was one of the leading Sufi theologians of his time who was born in Ronda. Attracted to Morocco by the famous madrasahs, Ibn ...
(1333–1390) were born in Ronda.
![Ronda - view toward Santa Maria la Mayor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Ronda_-_view_toward_Santa_Maria_la_Mayor.jpg)
The Islamic domination of Ronda ended in 1485, when it was conquered by the Marquis of Cádiz after a brief siege. Subsequently, most of the city's old edifices were renewed or adapted to Christian roles, while numerous others were built in newly created quarters such as Mercadillo and San Francisco. The
Plaza de Toros de Ronda
The Plaza de Toros de Ronda is a Bullring in Ronda, it has a diameter of , surrounded by a passage formed by two rings of stone. There are two layers of seating, each with five raised rows and 136 pillars that make up 68 arches. The Royal Box has ...
was founded in the town in 1572.
The
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
affected the Muslims living in Spain greatly. Shortly after 1492, when the last outpost of Muslim presence in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
,
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, was conquered, the Spanish decreed that all Muslims must either vacate the peninsula without their belongings or convert. Many people overtly converted to keep their possessions while secretly practicing their religion. Muslims who converted were called
Morisco
Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...
s. They were required to wear upon their caps and turbans a blue crescent. Traveling without a permit meant a death sentence. This systematic suppression forced the Muslims to seek refuge in mountainous regions of southern Andalusia; Ronda was one such refuge.
On May 25, 1566,
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
decreed the use of the Arabic language (written or spoken) illegal, required that doors to homes remain open on Fridays to verify that no Muslim Friday prayers were conducted, and levied heavy taxes on Morisco trades. This led to several rebellions, one of them in Ronda under the leadership of Al-Fihrey. Al-Fihrey's soldiers defeated the Spanish army sent to suppress them under the leadership of Alfonso de Aguilar. The massacre of the Spaniards prompted Phillip II to order the expulsion of all Moriscos in Ronda.
In the early 19th century, the
Napoleonic invasion and the subsequent
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
caused much suffering in Ronda, whose inhabitants were reduced from 15,600 to 5,000 in three years. Ronda's area became the base first of guerrilla warriors, then of numerous bandits, whose deeds inspired artists such as
Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...
,
Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...
, and
Gustave Doré
Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engraving ...
. In the 19th century, the economy of Ronda was mainly based on agricultural activities. In 1918, the city was the seat of the
Assembly of Ronda
{{unreferenced, date=September 2012
The Assembly of Ronda (Spanish: ''Asamblea de Ronda'') or Assembly of the Andalusian Provinces in Ronda (Spanish: ''Asamblea de las provincias andaluzas en Ronda'') was a gathering of Andalusian nationalists co ...
, in which the
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
n flag, coat of arms, and anthem were designed.
Ronda's Romero family—from
Francisco
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco (name), Paco". Francis of Assisi, San Francisco de Asís was known as '' ...
, born in 1698, to his son Juan, to his famous grandson
Pedro
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
, who died in 1839—played a principal role in the development of modern
Spanish bullfighting. In a family responsible for such innovations as the use of the cape, or ''muleta'', and a sword especially designed for the kill, Pedro in particular transformed bullfighting into "an art and a skill in its own right, and not simply ... a clownishly macho preamble to the bull's slaughter".
Ronda was heavily affected by the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, which led to emigration and depopulation. The scene in chapter 10 of
Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
's ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls
''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...
'', describing the 1936 execution of Fascist sympathisers in a (fictional) village who are thrown off a cliff, is considered to be modeled on actual events of the time in Ronda.
Geography
Ronda is situated in a mountainous area about
above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. Also it occupies the depression of Ronda. The inner relief is gentle and includes areas of pastureland and vegetable and cereal growing areas.
The
Guadalevín
The Guadalevín is a tributary of the river Guadiaro in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. Its gorge divides the city of Ronda where it is spanned by three bridges, ''Puente Nuevo'', ''Puente Viejo'' and '' Puente Romano''.
The following is a translatio ...
River runs through the city, dividing it in two and carving out the steep, 100-plus-meter-deep El Tajo
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
above which the city perches. The
Spanish fir
''Abies pinsapo'', the Spanish fir, is a species of tree in the family Pinaceae, native to southern Spain and northern Morocco. Related to other species of Mediterranean firs, it appears at altitudes of in the Sierra de Grazalema in the Province ...
(''Abies pinsapo'') is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the mountains surrounding Ronda.
Main sights
![Panorama of Ronda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Panorama_of_Ronda.jpg)
* Three bridges over the Tajo canyon: 1 - ''Puente Romano'' "Roman Bridge",( also known as the ''Puente Arabe'' "Arabic Bridge" as the foundation is Roman and was rebuilt above in the Arabic Period ); 2-''
Puente Viejo
''Puente Viejo'' (, "Old Bridge") is the second oldest and second lowest of the three bridges that span the deep chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides the city of Ronda in southern Spain. Despite its name ('Old bridge'), it is new ...
''"Old Bridge",( also known as the ''Puente San Miguel''); and 3-''
Puente Nuevo
The ''Puente Nuevo'' (, "New Bridge") is the newest and largest of three bridges that span the chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides the city of Ronda, in southern Spain. Completed in 1793, the architect was José Martin de Aldehu ...
''"New Bridge", span the canyon. The term ''nuevo'' is something of a misnomer, as the building of this bridge commenced in 1751 and took until 1793 to complete. The ''
Puente Nuevo
The ''Puente Nuevo'' (, "New Bridge") is the newest and largest of three bridges that span the chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides the city of Ronda, in southern Spain. Completed in 1793, the architect was José Martin de Aldehu ...
'' is the tallest of the bridges, towering above the canyon floor, and all three serve as some of the city's most impressive features. The former town hall, which stands next to the ''Puente Nuevo'', is the site of a
Parador
A ''parador'' (), in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries was an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink, similar to an inn. In Spain since 1928, a Parador is a state-owned luxury hotel, usually located ...
and has a view of the Tajo canyon.
![BullRing-Ronda, Andalusia, Spain](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/BullRing-Ronda%2C_Andalusia%2C_Spain.jpg)
* The 'Corrida Goyesca' is a bullfight that takes place once a year in Ronda in the ''
Plaza de toros de Ronda
The Plaza de Toros de Ronda is a Bullring in Ronda, it has a diameter of , surrounded by a passage formed by two rings of stone. There are two layers of seating, each with five raised rows and 136 pillars that make up 68 arches. The Royal Box has ...
'', the oldest
bullfighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
ring in Spain.
[GIORGIO ARMANI DESIGNS COSTUME FOR CAYETANO RIVERA ORDONEZ FOR ‘THE CORRIDA GOYESCA’](_blank)
It was built in 1784 in the
Neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...
by the architect
José Martin de Aldehuela
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
, who also designed the ''Puente Nuevo''.
* The partially intact ''Baños Arabe'' ("Arabic baths") are found below the city, beside the Puente Arabe ( Also known as the Puente Romano ) and date back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Nowadays you can visit them although you can not enjoy an original Arab bath but you can see all the facilities. The Arab Baths used to fulfil the function of purifying the visitors who came to the city of Ronda. They are the best preserved Arabic baths.
![Ronda 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Ronda_05.jpg)
* Plaza del Socorro is the modern political centre of Ronda. It was here that
Blas Infante
Blas Infante Pérez de Vargas (5 July 1885 – 11 August 1936) was a Spanish Andalusist politician, Georgist, writer, historian and musicologist, known as the father of Andalusian nationalism ''(Padre de la Patria Andaluza)''.
Infante was a G ...
showed the Andalusian flag and coat of arms for the first time in 1918. The parish church of Socorro (Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Socorro) was only built in 1956. The building known as the Casino and Circulo de Artistas (Artists' Society) is located on the north side of Ronda's Plaza del Socorro.
![Palacio_de_Salvatierra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Palacio_de_Salvatierra.JPG)
* The Palacio of the Marqués de Salvatierra opens irregularly as a small museum of Renaissance art and artefacts. The Palacio is an 18th-century renovation of an earlier 16th century building gifted to the family of Don Vasco Martín de Salvatierra by the
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...
when they redistributed the spoils of the
Reconquest. In 1994, Madonna obtained a permit to shoot inside the palace of the Marquis of Salvatierra for the music video of
Take a Bow.
![Casa_del_Rey_Moro_(Ronda)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Casa_del_Rey_Moro_%28Ronda%29.jpg)
* Despite the name, The Casa del Rey Moro was never the home of a Moorish king. It was built in the 18th century, when Moorish Spain was already a distant memory. Its apparently Moorish gardens are even more recent, having been designed by the French landscape gardener
Jean Claude Forestier in 1912. The house does incorporate one genuine and important relic of Ronda's Moorish era: the so-called Water Mine, a set of steps down to the river carved into the cliff wall.
*
*
Serranía de Ronda
The Serranía de Ronda is a comarca in the western part of the province of Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. As is currently (as of 2009) the norm in Andalusia, it has no formal status. The 2007 Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia, unlike its 1981 predecess ...
is filled with pueblos blancos which are approachable by car. The position of the town of Ronda provides views over the mountains of Serranía de Ronda.
Cultural influence
![Doorknocker Ronda Bullring](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Doorknocker_Ronda_Bullring.jpg)
American artists
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
and
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
spent many summers in Ronda as part-time residents of Ronda's old-town quarter called La Ciudad. Both wrote about Ronda's beauty and famous bullfighting traditions. Their collective accounts have contributed to Ronda's popularity over time.
In the first decades of the 20th century, the famous German poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...
spent extended periods in Ronda, where he kept a permanent room at the Hotel Reina Victoria (built in 1906); his room remains to this day as he left it, a minimuseum of Rilkeana. According to the hotel's publicity, Rilke wrote (though probably not in Spanish) ''He buscado por todas partes la ciudad soñada, y al fin la he encontrado en Ronda'' and ''No hay nada más inesperado en España que esta ciudad salvaje y montañera'' ("I have sought everywhere the city of my dreams, and I have finally found it in Ronda" and "Nothing is more startling in Spain than this wild and mountainous city.")
Hemingway's novel ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls
''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...
'' describes the execution of Nationalist sympathizers early in the Spanish Civil War. The Republicans murder the Nationalists by throwing them from cliffs in an Andalusian village, and Hemingway allegedly based the account on killings that took place in Ronda at the cliffs of ''El Tajo''.
Orson Welles said he was inspired by his frequent trips to Spain and Ronda (e.g. his unfinished film about Don Quixote). After he died in 1985, his ashes were buried in a well on the rural property of his friend, retired bullfighter
Antonio Ordoñez.
English writer
George Eliot
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...
's book ''
Daniel Deronda
''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel written by Mary Ann Evans under the pen name of George Eliot, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society ...
'' ("Daniel of Ronda") tells the story of a Spanish Jew brought up as an Englishman. Some speculation existed that Eliot's ancestors had lived in Ronda prior to the
expulsion of the Jews from Spain
The Expulsion of Jews from Spain was the expulsion from Spain following the Alhambra Decree in 1492, which was enacted in order to eliminate their influence on Spain's large ''converso'' population and to ensure its members did not revert to Judai ...
in 1492.
In the fashion world, Italian designer
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...
specially designed the bullfighting costume called ‘Goyesco’ for famed bullfighter
Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez
Antonio Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez (born January 13, 1977 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish ''torero'' or 'bullfighter'.
Family ties
Rivera is the son of Francisco Rivera 'Paquirri' and Carmen Ordóñez.
He belongs to a long line of famous bullfigh ...
on the occasion of the Corrida Goyesca that took place on September 6, 2009, in Ronda. Cayetano's suit of lights was in the
Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...
esque style, comprising a jacket, trousers, and cloak in techno-satin. The three pieces were embroidered with sequins, small glitter stones, and thread, all matching the colour of the background fabric.
Ronda was used as the setting for the flower market in the 2017 animated movie
''Ferdinand''.
Transport
![Estación de Ronda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Estaci%C3%B3n_de_Ronda.jpg)
Ronda is accessible via highways (
Autovía A-374
The Autovía A-374 is a highway in Spain. It passes through Andalusia between the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With ...
) and by rail from
Algeciras
Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...
and from
Córdoba. A direct train from Madrid to Ronda operates twice daily.
The single-track railway between Ronda and Algeciras was built between 1890 and 1892 by the
Algeciras Gibraltar Railway Company
The Algeciras Gibraltar Railway Company was formed by British businessmen to build the Algeciras-Bobadilla railway line between Algeciras and Bobadilla, Antequera, the first section of track was laid on 1 September 1888. The first train was purc ...
. It enabled the British military officers to escape the summer heat of Gibraltar. The railway was built by James Morrison, an engineer, in partnership with
Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon
Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon (28 September 1850 – 17 March 1934), known as Sir Alexander Henderson, 1st Baronet, from 1902 to 1916, was a British financier and Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament.
Biography
Henderson was the ...
, a financier. The station at Ronda was opened in 1892.
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Ronda is
twinned with:
*
Cuenca, Spain
*
Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen ( ar, شفشاون, Shafshāwan, ), also known as Chaouen (), is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the "Blu ...
, Morocco
Asociación Senderista ''Pasos Largos'' - Chefchaouen, Morocco.
* Castiglion Fiorentino
Castiglion Fiorentino () is a small, walled city in eastern Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Arezzo, between the cities of Arezzo and Cortona. It is known for its annual festivals and its Etruscan archeological site.
History
Due to the overall ...
, Italy
* Ontinyent
Ontinyent ( es, Onteniente) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is situated on the banks of the Clariano River, a tributary of the Xúquer, and on the Xàtiva–Alcoi railway. Ontinyen ...
, Spain
* Ceuta
Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa.
Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
, Spain
References
External links
Ronda Today
English language tourist Information about Ronda and surrounding areas.
{{authority control
Municipalities in the Province of Málaga