Ronda in Southern Spain

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Iglesia de Santa María de la Encarnación la Mayor Ronda

The biggest church in Ronda, not quite a cathedral, but close. Santa Maria is also home to many of the Semana Santa icons.

Santa Maria Icons

Santa Maria Icons

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 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, but don’t be fooled, entering the church soon puts these thoughts aside.

The main doors lead directly into a small vestibule which still contains one of the original columns of the cathedral built in the years immediately after Ferdinand and Isabella’s Christian conquest of 1485. Sadly an earthquake in 1580 demolished it and the church which stands in its place today is an incomplete replacement, though still very impressive both inside and out. The bell you see in the vestibule is a duplicate of the bells which ring every hour in the tower above you.

Archeological evidence suggests that the Medina Mosque itself had also been constructed on top of an older Christian church dating from Visigothic times, however we also know that this was built on top an even older Roman altar, possibly a temple to Diana, which built to honour the victory of Julius Caesar over the forces of Pompeii, Cneo, and Sexto in the battle of Munda (the Roman name for Ronda) in 45BC.

Iglesia de Santa Maria

Iglesia de Santa Maria

The balconies at the front of Santa María la Mayor were added later during the reign of Felipe II for nobility and gentry of the city to watch maestranza tournements, bullfights and other events being held in the square, but these days the square has been converted into a lovely park named in honour of the Duchess of Parcent. Within the church is a fresco of Christopher Columbus painted by one of Ronda’s celebrated painters, Jose de Ramos.

Entrance to the Santa María la Mayor is free for devotees and residents of Ronda, and just 4€ for tourists wanting to take photos and see the wonderful artifacts inside including the statues (pasos) which are carried through the town at Semana Santa (Easter).

Santa María La Mayor Opening Times

April to September
10am till 8pm (10:00-20:00)

March and October
10am till 7pm (10:00-19:00)

November to February
10am till 6pm (10:00-18:00)

Sundays closed for Mass between 1pm and 2pm (13:00-14:00)

GPS Location
Latitude: 36.737285 (36° 44′ 14.23” N)
Longitude: -5.165387 (5° 9′ 55.39” W)

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Ronda

Ronda is one of Spain's most visited cities for good reason, our little city is very compact, in fact from arriving in Ronda, to seeing the Real Maestranza bullring, the Puente Nuevo, the many beautiful churches, our museums, or the wonderful coffee shops and tapas bars, we have it all within a short 30 minute walk.

Of course, most visitors need at least 2 or 3 days to see everything because a lot can be packed into your time in Ronda. Stay in one of Ronda’s many excellent hotels, with a choice of restaurant covering tapas in a local bar, menu del dia, or a la carte menu.

A walking tour of Ronda is a pleasant and enjoyable way to spend a lazy few hours, almost everything you could want to see in Ronda is no more than 200-300 metres from the new bridge.

Ronda Today is the Serranía de Ronda's only daily English language news source, our we take pride in providing Ronda News as it happens.

Stay in Ronda

As one of the most visited cities in Spain, Ronda has a fantastic selection of hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and self-catered accommodation guaranteed to suit all tastes.

Whether it's just one night, or several weeks that you need we can help you find somewhere to rest your weary bones while you're in the city of dreams - La Ciudad Soñada.

Join great names like Orson Welles, Earnest Hemingway, Rainer Rilke, James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges, Madonna, or Jamie Oliver who have enjoyed their time in Ronda.

Visitors who plan to make Ronda their new home should check out our property section, where we talk about some of the gotchas that can occur. Forewarned is forearmed.

Why Visit Ronda

A small city perched on a seemingly precarious platform of rock, Ronda is in fact an impregnable fortress only defeated in battle through trickery, and during the reconquest with modern (for the era) rock blasting cannon.

The mountains and valleys of the Serranía de Ronda are home to a tough breed of people, yet in Ronda these people are refined, some are gentry, some gypsies, others are just common folk, but all proudly call themselves Rondeños.

These days the population of Ronda is a little over 35,000 souls; big enough to offer all the essential services, but not big enough to suffer traffic problems or big city woes.

Rondeños have played a pivotal role in shaping Andalucía and modern Spain, and the city has hosted some of the great names of politics, the arts, education, and played her role in military events.

An hour from the Costa del Sol, Ronda is too far away to be heavily influenced by events on the coast, yet still close enough to benefit from the economic strength that tourism brings to Southern Spain. At a height of 723m, Ronda has a cooler year round temperature than the coast, making life in Ronda altogether more agreeable than other Andalucían cities.

Serranía de Ronda

Ronda is the biggest city in northern Malaga province, and the closest city to many of the smaller villages in Cadiz province, making Ronda an ideal base for exploring the Serrania.

Within a few kilometres of Ronda are some of the most visited Pueblos Blancos, the famous white villages of Andalucia, Setenil de las Bodegas, Grazalema, Gaucín, Juzcar, Benalauria, Montejaque, Teba, Cortes de la Frontera, Igualeja, the list goes on...

As well, Ronda is close to three natural parques, the Grazalema park, Alcornocales park, and the Sierra de las Nieves park. The Serranía is also home to pre-historic cave paintings at Benaojan, Neolithic dolmens at Montecorto, and of course, the Roman city of Acinipo.

The countryside of the Serranía is described as unique, in fact universally important. Many endemic species make their home here, including the pre ice age Pinsapa pine tree, and numerous orchids only found on our mountains.