Ronda and the White Villages
Total length of the trip: 115km via Castelar and Jimena de
la Frontera. 100km between Ronda and Arcos de la Frontera.
Point of Departure: San Pedro de Alcantara.
There is a well-paved mountain road between the coast and
Ronda, which asses through the whole mountain range from south
to north with lovely scenery on either side and practically
no settlements.
Ronda (49km from San Pedro de Alcantara) lies on top of a
rocky projection with vertical walls and is one of the most
interesting towns in Andalusia. It is divided by a deep chasm
which reaches a depth of 100m at some points. El Puente Nuevo
(the New Bridge), built in the 18C connects both parts and
at the same time is the landmark of the town.
Upon arrival, on one side the traveller finds the 16C convent
of San Francisco with an interesting Gothic Isabelline portal.
Soon afterwards there are the Gates of El Almocabar - of Muslim
times - and of Carlos V, which give access to the most representative
area of Ronda. The Church of El Espiritu Santo, founded at
the request of the Catholic Monarchs, stands next to the wall.
The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria should, without a doubt,
be the first place to be visited. It is an important Renaissance
building which still preserved inside an arch of the vanished
mosque. The interior is a combination of late Gothic and Baroque.
Other sights of this section of the old part of Ronda include
El Cuartel las Milicias (today's Town Hall), the convent of
the Clares, La Caridad church and Mondragon Palace.
Also in the vicinity of the collegiate church, there are La
Casa del Gigante (Giants House; from Muslim times) and the
Church of La Virgen de la Paz, dating from the 16C and 17c.
On the way to El Puente Nuevo, there is the minaret of San
Sebastian, the only vestige of the vanished mosque. On the
right, the visit should include the Palaces of El Rey Moro
and of Salvatierra, the Arab baths and the Arch of Felipe.
Despite its name, the Palace of El Rey Moro is an entirely
western building dating from the 18c. It has a lovely façade
typical of Ronda. Salvatierra, on the other hand, has a curious
Renaissance portal.
The well-preserved Arab baths are found in the lowest part
of town. Close by there is the 17C Puente Viejo (Old Bridge),
which leads to the most recent area of Ronda. It is suggested,
however, to return to El Puente Nuevo: the view over the precipice
of the River Guadalavir is absolutely breathtaking there.
Very near España Square, today's town centre, there is the
bullring, a lovely 18C construction which replaced that of
Felipe II, dating from the 16C. In this bullring Pedro Romero,
the father of fighting bulls on foot, created a school, and
every year it is the scene of a traditional bullfight recreating
Goyas times. In the area the traveller will find signposts
pointing the way to the Victoria Hotel, where the room is
preserved in which Rainer Maria Rilke lived while he was in
Ronda.
The ruins of Acinipo lie at a distance of 19km from Ronda.
Part of an ancient theatre is preserved of this Roman settlement.
With Ronda as the starting point the traveller has two options
to get to know the white villages. The road descending towards
the bay of Algeciras passes through a good part of the mountain
range and then enters the Province of Cadiz. There are two
lovely villages to be visited: Jimena and Castellar de la
Frontera. The other option takes the traveller to Arcos de
la Frontera after passing through really magnificent mountain
scenery and through Grazalema and Ubrique.
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