www.mgaylard.co.uk - Ronda

My starting point for this little pictorial trip around is the Plaza del Socorro, and I have picked that because it has a very conveniently placed car park, right near the centre of the town.

From here it is a simple short walk down to the bullring and its museum. This is the home to the Real Maestranza de Caballería, the oldest and most noble order of horsemanship in Spain since 1485.

Alameda del Tajo is a public park with an observation deck with views to the mountains to the west.

From here you can walk along the promenade that faces the mountains, along the Passeo Ernest Hemingway, around the Parador hotel to the gorge, El Tajo. The Plaza de España lies the north end of the Punete Nuevo bridge that spans the gorge. The views from the bridge are stunning.

At the other end of the bridge is the Placa A Los Viajeros Romanticos. Ronda has long attracted artists and writers, as well as other distinguished visitors including royalty and politicians so this square contains a wall covered in ceramics quoting visitors on their writings of their visits.

La Casa de San Juan Bosco, is a is a modernist large house built at the beginning of the 20th century and John Melchior Bosco, SDB (Italian: Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; Piedmontese: Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 1815 – 31 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco, was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer, and saint of the 19th century.

Originally built in the 14th century as one of the muslim Mosques, the Church of Santa María la Mayor. Known locally as the Iglesia de Santa María de la Encarnación la Mayor it is located in Ronda’s Town Hall square, the Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, and is the biggest and most attractive of the churches. Its distinctive tower and front facade make the church look more like a city hall than a church. rondatoday.com

Finally work your way to the The Casa del Rey Moro. The house and garden are relatively modern additions but the grounds do contain one genuine and important relic of Ronda's Moorish era: the so-called Water Mine, a set of steps down to the river carved inside the cliff wall. You can go down these steps, look at the cisterns and rooms carved into the rock all the way down to the river at the bottom of the gorge. Be warned though that this is the equivalent of climbing down, and then back up a twenty story builing. I nearly killed myself!

Plaza del Socorro

Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Socorro

Carrera Espinel

Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda

The city of Ronda is home to the Real Maestranza de Caballería, the oldest and most noble order of horsemanship in Spain since 1485. In that year, the Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella won Ronda back from the Moors and ended over seven centuries of Islamic rule. Construction of the bullring started in 1779 and finished in 1785. It stands on the west edge of Ronda, about two blocks from Puente Nuevo and the El Tajo canyon. The design is attributed to the architect Martín de Aldehuela. While it may not be the oldest bull fighting ring in Spain, it is one of the first entirely constructed from stone, instead of a combination of stone and brick. The architecture is also unique in that all seating in the ring is covered. It is considered a rather small arena with only five thousand seats, but the bull ring itself is the largest in Spain. Ronda's first inaugural bull fighting event in May of 1784 resulted in a partial collapse of the stands, and the structure had to be closed temporarily for repairs. It reopened the next year in May of 1785 with its second inaugural event, which is known as one of the greatest bullfights in Ronda's history. Rivals Pedro Romero and Pepe Hillo faced each other in front of the most noble families in Ronda.
en.wikipedia.org

Alameda del Tajo

El Tajo

Plaza de España

Puente Nuevo

The construction of the newest bridge (the one standing as of 2017) was started in 1759 and took 34 years. There is a chamber above the central arch that was used for a variety of purposes, including as a prison. During the 1936–1939 civil war both sides allegedly used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents, killing some by throwing them from the windows to the rocks at the bottom of the El Tajo gorge.[2] The chamber is entered through a square building that was once the guard-house. It now contains an exhibition describing the bridge's history and construction
en.wikipedia.org

Placa A Los Viajeros Romanticos

Ronda has long attracted artists and writers, as well as other distinguished visitors including royalty and politicians so this square contains a wall covered in ceramics quoting visitors on their writings of their visits.

Palacio de Congresos de Ronda

Casa Don Bosco

While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the ill effects of industrialization and urbanization, John Bosco dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System.
en.wikipedia.org

Foundation of Salesians of Don Bosco

Some of the boys helped by Don Bosco decided to do what he was doing: working in the service of abandoned boys. That was the origin of the Salesian Congregation. Among the first members were Michael Rua,[42] John Cagliero (who later became a Cardinal), and John Baptist Francesca. In 1857 Bosco drew up a set of rules for his helpers. This rule was approved definitively in 1873 by Pope Pius IX as the Rule of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales.

When Bosco founded the Salesian Society, the thought of the missions still obsessed him but completely lacked the financial means. For three years he collected information about different countries. A request from Argentina turned him towards the Indians of Patagonia, and a study of its people convinced him that the country and its inhabitants were the ones that he had seen in his dream. In late 1874, Bosco received letters from the Argentine consul at Savona requesting that he accept an Italian parish in Buenos Aires and a school for boys at San Nicolas de Los Arroyos.

Saint Bosco died on 31 January 1888. His funeral was attended by thousands. The Archdiocese of Turin investigated, and witnesses were called to determine if Bosco was worthy to be declared a saint. The Salesians, Daughters, and Cooperators gave supportive testimonies. Pope Pius XI had known Bosco and pushed the cause forward. Pius XI beatified Bosco on 2 June 1929 and canonised him on Easter Sunday (1 April) of 1934, when he was given the title of "Father and Teacher of Youth". Pope Pius XII proclaimed him patron saint of Catholic publishers in 1949. His repertoire of writings and publications consists of over 220 titles collected in 38 volumes. They were printed at his own peerless paper-to-print workshop, where boys learned the art of printing and publishing in view of future employment.
en.wikipedia.org

Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor

Plaza Duquesa de Parcent

Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor

La Casa del Rey Moro

La Casa del Rey Moro

La Mina at Casa del Rey Moro

Guadalevín River

About Ronda

Ronda is a town in the province of Málaga in Andalusia, Spain. It is set in and around a deep gorge spanned by an impressive bridge, which brings in many day-trippers from the Costa del Sol and other places to admire the view. However, Ronda is also a remarkably pretty town with beautiful architecture from the islamic period up to the 19th century, romantic winding streets with white-washed houses, some interesting museums, and lots of good places to eat and drink.

The most conspicuous feature of Ronda is its location on a big sandstone hill that is cut in two by the El Tajo gorge, in which the Guadalevín rivers runs some 120 m below. The views of the gorge and the surrounding countryside are breathtaking, and worth the visit in itself.

Ronda is also supposed to be the birthplace of the Spanish bullfighting tradition, and boasts the oldest bullring in Spain, built in 1785.
wikitravel.org