Round

Ronda is a Spanish municipality and city belonging to Andalusia, located in the northwest of the province of Málaga. It is the head of the homonymous judicial district and the capital of the Serranía de Ronda region.

In 2018 it had 33,978 inhabitants, which makes it the second most populous municipality in the interior of the province after Antequera. Its municipal area extends over a plateau known as the Ronda depression due to the mountains that surround it. It has an area of 397.62 km² and a population density of 86.18 inhabitants/km².

Ronda has its origins in the Roman Arunda that would be constituted from existing Iberian settlements. The Visigoths gave it continuity until the arrival of the Muslims, who consolidated its role as regional head and its urban entity. Its location facilitated the defense of the city and placed it in a strategic situation to dominate the steps and paths towards Baja Andalucía. This and the availability of land suitable for agriculture eventually gave it remarkable historical importance.

The city sits on a plateau cut by a deep gorge excavated by the Guadalevín River, to which the buildings of its historic center appear, which gives the city a picturesque panorama that, together with the variety of monuments it has, its natural environment and its proximity to the great centers of mass tourism on the Costa del Sol, has made Ronda a notable tourist center. The cornice of the pit and the bridge that crosses it are the quintessential image of the city.

Geography

The municipality of Ronda occupies the so-called Ronda depression and is surrounded by mountains. Inside, the relief is smooth and includes pasture areas and horticultural and cereal areas. Due to the wide extension of the municipality, the altitude oscillates between 1919 m above sea level of the Torrecilla peak (municipality of Tolox) and 570 m in the lowest area, next to the neighboring municipality of Arriate.

Aerial view of Ronda

The city sits on a rocky plateau 723 m above sea level, divided into two parts by a canyon known as the Tajo de Ronda, through which the Guadalevín River, a tributary of the Guadiaro River, flows. The pit also extends over the Valle de los Molinos. To the east of the city is the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, to the south the Genal Valley, to the west the Sierra de Grazalema and to the north other flatter lands in the direction of Campillos. The town is located about 100 km from the city of Malaga.

Within the municipal term of Ronda, is located the municipal term of Arriate of considerably smaller extension.

Location

Northwest: Montecorto and El Gastor	North: Setenil de las Bodegas y Olvera	Northeast: Cañete la Real, Serrato y Cuevas del Becerro
West: Grazalema		This: The Burgo and Yunquera
Southwest Benaoján and Montejaque	South: Parauta, Cartajima, Juzcar, Faraján and Alpandeire	Sureste: Tolox
Interactive map — Ronda and its municipality

Climate

View of the vega of Ronda from the city.

The climate of the Serranía de Ronda is of the typical Mediterranean type. It is characterized by having a fairly regular seasonal regime, hot and dry summers and moderately cool winters with several temperatures below zero. In spring and autumn temperatures are usually mild and moderately warm towards the second half of spring and first half of autumn. The average annual temperature is around 16 °C. Rainfall is abundant with values above 1,000 mm/year and 1,700 mm/year in the westernmost areas, close to the Sierra de Grazalema, the rainiest place in the southern half of the peninsula.

Flora and fauna

The municipality of Ronda encompasses part of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park and the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. These parks have great natural wealth, with numerous animal and plant species, some of the last almost unique in the world, such as the fir or the mountain gall-oak; other animal species such as the ibex or the otter maintain stable populations of individuals in this reserve.

History

Acinipo Theatre.

Prehistory and Antiquity

Although prehistoric remains dating back to the Neolithic period have been found in the surroundings of the city, among which the cave paintings of the Cueva de la Pileta stand out, the origins of Ronda are due to the Celts, who in the VI a. C. they called it Arunda. Later, the Phoenicians settled in a nearby village that they called Acinipo. Arunda, after being conquered by the Greeks, was renamed Runda.

But Ronda as such was founded as a consequence of the Second Punic War, during the campaign that the Roman general Scipio the African carried out against the Carthaginians who dominated Hispania at the end of the century III a. C. It is then when the castle of Laurus was ordered to be built, which favored the settlement of the population around it and reaching the rank of city in the time of Julius Caesar, reaching its inhabitants, and those of the neighboring Acinipo, the quality of Roman citizens.

In the V century, with the end of the Roman Empire, the city is taken by the Suevi commanded by Rechila, later going through a Byzantine period, in which Acinipo was definitively abandoned, until Leovigildo integrated it into the Visigothic kingdom.

Middle Ages

Puerta de Carlos V and Puerta del Almocábar de las murallas de Ronda. On the right, the Church of the Holy Spirit.

In 711 the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula took place and, in 713, the current Ronda opened its doors, without fighting, to the Muslim chief Zaide Ben Kesadi El Sebseki. The city is renamed Izn-Rand Onda (the city of the castle) becoming the capital of the Andalusian province of Takurunna.

With the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, the heart of Takurunna became the Taifa of Ronda (Banū Ifrēn), an independent kingdom ruled by Abu Nur Hilal Ben Abi Qurra, and it was during this period that the largest part of the monumental heritage of the historic center of Ronda and the suburbs. Abu Nur Hilal was succeeded by his son Abu Nasar who, after being assassinated, caused Ronda to become part of the Sevillian kingdom of Al-Mutadid.

The Islamic period of the city ended when, on May 22, 1485, King Ferdinand the Catholic managed to take it after a long siege. After the conquest, many of the monuments erected by the Muslims are remodeled, adapting to the new situation in the city, which begins a new flourishing that makes it grow, expanding into new neighborhoods such as the Mercadillo and San Francisco, becoming known the old nucleus Arabic as "The City".

Modern Age

During the War of the Communities of Castile (1520-1521), Ronda, like most Andalusian cities, remained loyal to Carlos I and sent its deputies to the anti-communal league held on La Rambla. In case the province had to confront the rebels militarily, it was agreed that it would contribute 100 infantry. It is also true that there were certain tensions between the regiment and the corregidor, but they were soon resolved by the Marquis de Mondéjar.

In 1572 the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda was founded for training purposes for the defense and wars of the kingdom. Between the 16th and 17th centuries" the bulk of the city is made up as it is preserved today. The old medina takes the name of La Ciudad, while the Espíritu Santo neighborhood is called Barrio Alto and the San Miguel neighborhood, Barrio Bajo. The new neighborhoods of San Francisco and the Mercadillo experienced great construction development, providing themselves with inns, churches and monasteries.

In the 18th century the city experienced a period of important constructions among which the New Bridge stands out, which has passed to be considered the symbol of the city, and the bullring, one of the oldest and most monumental in the world, both works by Martín de Aldehuela. From that time on, the romantic myths of bandits and bullfighters were created.

Contemporary Age

The Napoleonic invasion and the subsequent War of Independence had a special virulence in Ronda and its mountains. The Laurel castle, fortress of Ronda, was demolished by the French in their retreat and many mills and crops were ruined, leaving the area in a precarious situation. The city was subject to the payment of high taxes and daily provisions, which suffocated the local economy. Industrial and livestock production was reduced by less than half and a third of the orchards were ruined due to the large number of Ronda people who went to the mountains to fight against the French. In fact, the population dropped from 15,600 to 5,000 in three years.

The French invasion is the origin of the phenomenon of banditry in the area, due to the formation of guerrillas to fight the invaders, who, after the ravages of the war, were left without subsistence resources and had to dedicate themselves to the assault of roads and smuggling of Gibraltar goods. This phenomenon was widely exploited by romantic travelers such as Washington Irving, Mérimée, Ford or Doré, who took Ronda as a source of inspiration, mixing true history with fiction, forging the romantic image that the city still has.

Round in a 1924 painting by Manuel García and Rodríguez

During the 19th and XX the economic activity of Ronda continues to be mainly rural, being the meeting point for the inhabitants of the towns of the Serranía and having moments of splendor at the beginning of the century XX with the arrival of the railway.

In 1918 the Ronda Assembly was held in which the current design of the Flag, the Andalusian Anthem and its shield were established. At that time, the Caja de Ahorros de Ronda began to consolidate, which has strongly boosted the city's economy until its disappearance in 1990 when it merged with other banking entities in Unicaja.

A park of Ronda in 1981.

During the Spanish Civil War, the apocryphal story according to which, in 1936 at the beginning of the war, close to half a thousand sympathizers of the rebellious side were thrown down the ravine inspired Ernest Hemingway in his work For whom the bell tolls. After the Spanish civil war, the city experienced a deep crisis that caused the emigration of many people from Ronda.

Demographics

Demographic evolution of Ronda between 1842 and 2011

Source: INE

Note: Between the Census of 1877 and the previous one grows the term of the municipality because it incorporates Serrato.

Until 2014, the population of the towns of Serrato and Montecorto were added, first being Ronda districts, and, since 1999 and 2002 respectively, autonomous local entities (or ELA). In 2014 both became independent municipalities. Ronda and the surrounding small towns make up the Serranía de Ronda.

Politics and Administration

Heraldic shield of the city.

The political administration of the city is carried out through a democratically managed City Council whose members are elected every four years by universal suffrage. The electoral census is made up of all residents registered in Ronda over 18 years of age and nationals of Spain and the other member states of the European Union. According to the provisions of the General Electoral Regime Law, which establishes the number of eligible councilors based on the population of the municipality, the Municipal Corporation of Ronda is made up of 21 councilors.

Since the restoration of democracy in Spain, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party of Andalusia (PSOE-A) and the Andalusian Party (PA) have alternated at the head of the Ronda consistory, except for a brief period in which the Andalusian Popular Party governed (PP). In the 2007 municipal elections, the Andalusian Party was the list with the most votes and obtained 9 councilors compared to the 7 obtained by the PSOE-A, the 4 by the PP and the only one obtained by Izquierda Unida Los Verdes-Convocatoria por Andalucía.

Town Hall of Ronda.

During the 2003-2007 legislature, in which the PSOE-A was the force with the most votes, a pact between the Independent Liberal Group, the PP and the PA wrested the mayoralty from the Socialists and appointed Andalusian candidate Antonio Marín as mayor Lara, who would be the candidate with the most votes in the following municipal elections. He accused the PSOE of controlling the Spanish Agency for Data Protection when he was fined in 2008 by this body for violating the privacy of the people of Ronda by using the private data of the council to congratulate their neighbors on Christmas 2005 with cards illustrated with their party's logo. However, in June 2009 Marín Lara and his eight fellow party members who hold positions as councilors decided to switch to the PSOE-A, thereby that this party returns to govern in the Ronda city council, and the Andalusian Party is left without representation in the consistory and also loses the most important municipality that governed in the province of Mál aga.

In the 2011 elections, the PSOE won the elections in number of votes but tied with the PP in councillors. An agreement between the latter and the PA allows María de la Paz Fernández to be invested as mayor of Ronda.

Mayors since the 1979 elections

Period	Name	Party
1979-1983	Juan Harillo Ordóñez	PA
1983-1987	Julián de Zulueta y Cebrián	PSOE-A
1987-1991	Manuel García Rubio	PSOE-A
1991-1995	Juan Fraile Cantón	PSOE-A
1995-1999	Juan Fraile Cantón	PSOE-A
1999-2003	José Herrera Raquejo Juan Benítez Melgar	P PSOE-A
2003-2007	Juan Benítez Melgar Isabel Aguilera Antonio Ma Marín Lara	PSOE-A PSOE-A PA
2007-2011	Antonio Marín Lara Antonio Marín Lara	PA PSOE-A
2011-2015	María de la Paz Fernández Lobato	PP-PA
2015-2019	María de la Paz Fernández Lobato María Teresa Valdenebro Ríos	P PSOE-A
2019-	María de la Paz Fernández Lobato	P

Judicial Administration

Ronda is the head of judicial district number 4 in the province of Malaga, whose demarcation includes the city plus 22 other municipalities in the Serranía de Ronda region, serving the population in three investigative and first instance courts.

Economy

The Carrera Espinel, also known as the street of the ball, is the main commercial route of the city.

Ronda is mainly dedicated to cultural and rural tourism. There are some agri-food and furniture industries, and a large number of small shops and restaurants designed to satisfy the demand of tourists who come every day on excursions from the Costa del Sol. Ronda has become one of the most visited cities in Andalusia thanks to its great monumental heritage, its physical and natural environment and its proximity to the great centers of mass tourism on the Mediterranean coast. Another of the added interests is the establishment of several quality wine cellars.

Primary sector

One of the main characteristics of the regional economy is the permanence of small productive units that are difficult to capitalize. The primary sector (25% of the active population), is characterized by the rotation of rainfed crops in the plateau area, which is the area with the largest agricultural area (cereal-legumes-sunflower), and olive production that It is ground in local mills, both on the plateau and in the valleys. In these, agricultural activity can be considered marginal and for self-consumption, directing its territory towards extensive livestock production and the use of forest resources, although little by little different initiatives are emerging to promote the sector.

Secondary sector

The secondary sector, (31% of the active population), is characterized by a fragmented industrial framework, with very low activity and dynamism, being the construction subsector (18%) the one that has had the most spectacular growth, welcoming part of the primary population. Within the processing industry, the agri-food industry (meat, dairy and oil) is the one with the longest tradition and activity. Craft activities such as Ronda furniture and metal products are well established.

Tertiary sector

The tertiary sector (39.6% of the active population), is characterized by being centralized in the city of Ronda, bringing together a large number of small companies dedicated to commerce, lodging and transport, concentrating health services, large supermarkets commercial and banking entities.

Evolution of outstanding municipal debt

The concept of outstanding debt includes only debts with savings banks and banks related to financial credits, fixed-income securities and loans or credits transferred to third parties, excluding, therefore, commercial debt.

Graphic of evolution of living debt of the City of Ronda between 2008 and 2021

Living City Council debt in thousands of euros according to data from the Ministry of Finance and Public Service.

Transport and communications

Ronda railway station.

Ronda communicates with the neighboring regions through a network of roads of scenic value, since they cross the numerous mountain passes of the serranía. Transport by rail is carried out with Talgo trains that connect Ronda with Algeciras and Madrid through Altaria services, and 599 trains that communicate with Algeciras, Málaga and Granada through MD services.

Road network

The main communication routes in Ronda are: the A-397, which connects Ronda with San Pedro Alcántara, on the Costa del Sol, where it connects with the A-7 and AP-7; the A-374, which runs northwest towards Montecorto and Algodonales and continues under other names towards Seville and Jerez de la Frontera; the A-369, in a southwesterly direction through Benadalid and Algatocín to Gaucín, where it continues towards the Bay of Algeciras under the name of A-405; the A-367, which connects Ronda with Cuevas del Becerro, continuing towards Teba and Ardales, where it connects with other roads that leave for Antequera and Málaga through the Guadalhorce Valley; and the A-366, which connects Ronda with Coín passing through El Burgo, Yunquera and Alozaina, this being an alternative route to the provincial capital through the Sierra de las Nieves.

Other roads with less capacity link Ronda with Arriate and Setenil de las Bodegas (MA-7400), Benaoján (MA-7401) and Acinipo (MA-7402).

Rail transport

The implementation of railway structures for the cities generated a great economic impulse and growth to other distant cities. The railway, in its beginnings, was a key connection element to the outside that brought great benefits to the places that had station points. However, the tracks conditioned the urban structures by functioning as a "barrier effect", limiting internal circulation due to the cut that it imposed on the urban fabrics, which were affected in their development by the layout of the railway network. Regarding the “barrier effect”, it is clear that the railways could generate a limit in urban growth.

The first stage, in Ronda, arose in the year 1895 when the railways were implanted outside the developed sector, without having a considerable impact on the urban fabric. Going into the second stage, in 1977, is when the city in its growth "reaches" the railway without exceeding it, it becomes an edge to urban growth. Finally, the third stage, in 1995, arises when the city "exceeds" the railway, this is understood as a real urban barrier as it is within a developed area, and it usually generates functionality and road safety problems, such as bridges, level crossings, noise, pollution and landscape impacts.

Trains depart from Ronda station to Algeciras, Málaga, Antequera, Granada, Córdoba and Madrid. Renfe's A-5 service, Algeciras-Granada runs three times a day in both directions. There is also a daily train from Ronda to Algeciras in the morning, and another from Algeciras to Ronda in the afternoon, and a daily train to Malaga that returns in the afternoon. The long-distance Altaria Madrid-Algeciras service runs twice a day in both directions, with Ronda as one of its stops.

The Bobadilla-Algeciras railway line that crosses Ronda was built in 1890. It is a single, non-electrified track with a winding layout, which is why it only reaches low speeds. Informative studies were carried out in 2007 to adapt the line to high speed. The project included a bypass in the municipality of Ronda to avoid the current "Z" and the recovery of the Ronda-La Indiana station, currently out of service, as the Ronda high-speed (AVE) station. The high-speed trains between Ronda and Antequera-Santa Ana would make the journey in 20 minutes; and between Ronda and Algeciras, in 1 hour and 10 minutes. In successive studies, the project lost importance, until it was reduced to the electrification of the Bobadilla-Algeciras section, and the renewal of the platform with a third rail that allows the passage of international gauge trains.

Intercity buses

• CTSA-Portillo: Fuengirola, Marbella, Malaga, San Pedro Alcántara and Torremolinos.
• Los Amarillos: Seville, Malaga, Grazalema, Olvera, Benaojan and Almargen.
• Transportation General Comes: Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Algeciras, Ubrique and Zahara de la Sierra.
• Autocares Lara: Juzcar, Pujerra and Faraján.
• Autocares Sierra de las Nieves: Málaga, Coín y Setenil de las Bodegas.

Ronda is not part of the Malaga Area Metropolitan Transport Consortium, but some of the lines that operate in its territory partially run within its area. These lines are the following:

City buses

The Ronda urban bus service is operated by the company Autocares Lara and consists of four lines, which make the following routes:

• L1: CPD Avenida Málaga – La Planilla.
• L2: La Planilla – Hospital.
• Urbanization Line The Planilla.
• Hospital Line (direct): Bus Station - Hospital.

Heritage

The New Bridge.

Among the notable monuments of the city are:

• The Tajo or New Bridge located on the Garganta del Tajo, next to the bullring. It is a symbol of Ronda and under it there is a distance of approximately 100 meters until reaching the river Guadalevín. In addition, this bridge links the old area of the new one in Ronda.
• The Old Bridge that was previously considered "new" until the other bridge was built. The Old Bridge communicated the city and the market district. It is considered to be Arabic. After the Christian conquest at the end of the centuryXVThe old bridge was torn apart. It was restored in the centuryXX. and the one we can see today rises to 31 meters of the river and its arch is 10 meters.
• The Mondragon Palace is the municipal museum. Built in 1314 by King Abomelik, it was later used as the main residence of Kings Isabel and Fernando.
• The palace of King Moro and La Mina was, according to legend, the residence of King Almonated, of which it is said that the wine was drank in the skulls of his enemies.
• The Arab Bridge is just a few metres from the Arab baths. This is accessed from the Old Bridge and the Arch of Felipe V.
• The Jardines de Cuenca are located on the ledge and is distributed through a series of terraces.
• The taurino coso is owned by the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda. In addition, it is one of the oldest and most monumental bullrings.
• The Arab baths of Ronda that were built at the end of the centuryXIII. They also settled next to the Bridge Gate following the custom of the time, by which visitors should be purified before entering the city.
• The Alameda del Tajo was previously known as Alameda de San Carlos. It is a wooded walk and botanical garden dating from the beginning of the centuryXIX.
• Arch of Philip V was built after the sinking of what we know today as an ancient bridge.

Ronda was divided and still maintains this division into three neighborhoods: San Francisco, the oldest where the fortress was located; the city, where the great buildings, convents, churches and palaces are located, with very picturesque streets with arches, columns, coffered ceilings and arabesques that reveal their origin; and, finally, the Mercadillo, the most modern, founded as a result of the Reconquest, notorious for its baroque farmhouse, dazzling with whiteness and enriched by the ironwork on its windows, products of local crafts.

Coso de la Plaza de Toros de Ronda.

The city

In the old part, known as "The City" there is the Iglesia Mayor, the Iglesia del Espíritu Santo, the town hall, different museums, the palaces of Mondragón and Salvatierra, the Casa del Rey Moro through which you can go down to the bottom of the pit through the mine stairs, the House of the Giant, the Minaret of San Sebastián, the missing Church of San Sebastián, the House of San Juan Bosco, the Felipe V Gate and a large number of palace-houses, narrow streets and small squares.

The House of the Moro King.

San Francisco

Passing the Cuesta de las Imágenes is the San Francisco neighborhood, from which you can see the Puerta de Almocábar and the Arab wall that surrounded Ronda and that reaches the Arab bridge at whose foot stand out the Arab baths, some of them the best preserved in Spain. The Convent of San Francisco stands out, which gives its name to the neighborhood, of which only the church remains, in the Gothic-Mudejar style with an Isabelline-Gothic doorway. In addition, in the same Plaza de San Francisco, we can find the remains of the first Christian temple built in Ronda, the Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Ronda).

The Market

In the modern area is the Parador de Turismo built on what used to be the Town Hall and the Food Market; the Ronda bullring, owned by the Real Maestranza, is one of the oldest bullrings and the largest arena in the world; the Alameda park with its balcony over the pit, a large amount of vegetation and the new Vicente Espinel Theater; the churches of El Socorro, La Merced, Santa Cecilia and Padre Jesús among others, as well as the Temple of the Virgen de los Dolores.

Classic Roma architecture in the urban center.

Paseo de la Alameda del Tajo.

Another place of interest is Carrera Espinel street, one kilometer long and pedestrianized with nine sections, popularly known as Calle de la Bola. This street owes its name, according to tradition, to the fact that children made mud balls when it rained, since the street was not paved and they threw them from one end of the street, rolling to the end of it; In it you can find shops of all kinds and it is where the commercial life of the city takes place. Following north are many of the city's modern neighborhoods.

Also in the Mercadillo neighborhood is a large part of the city's modernist and eclectic artistic legacy, highlighting the Círculo de Artistas or Casino de Ronda building, the place where Blas Infante organized the first Andalusian assembly, located on the Plaza del Socorro, the kiosk and the lampposts of the Alameda del Tajo, the viewpoint of the Paseo de Blas Infante, or the lamppost of the Plaza de Carmen Abela, as well as numerous private homes.

Culture

Round musicians.

Cultural events

Ronda hosts three annual music festivals. The Cante Grande Festival is dedicated to flamenco. It takes place in the month of August and is the oldest in the city and one of the oldest in Andalusia, started in 1968. The International Folkloric Gala celebrated its thirty-sixth edition in 2009. It is organized by the Abul-Beka Coros y Danzas de Ronda Folk Cultural Association, and is dedicated to folk music from around the world. Finally, the Summer Festival "Music and Twilight", is held regularly although not every year.

Other cultural events are: the International Scientific Film Biennial organized until its XXVI edition in 2010 by Unicaja and in its last three editions by ASECIC; the Painting Contest, started in 2005; the Love Letter Contest, inaugurated in 2008, the Collective Exhibition of Painters, since 1988, the Cofrade Art Fair, started in 2009; and the Book Fair, which takes place in November. In addition, Ronda is one of the venues for the summer courses of the University of Malaga.

Museums

Municipal Museum of Ronda

Carriage at the Lara Museum.

• Municipal Museum of Ronda: located in the Palacio de Mondragón, is made up of the remains of excavations carried out in the municipality and donations of private collections. Four large thematic areas are projected, of which only the corresponding archaeology has been installed at the moment.
• Lara Museum: is a museum of art and antiquities located in the old palace of the Counts of the Conquest of the Batan Islands, century buildingXVIII. It contains some 5000 original pieces distributed in several rooms such as watches, weapons, archaeology or musical instruments.
• Rilke Museum: This is a permanent exhibition in room 208 of the Queen Victoria-Husa Hotel, with its details of the time, where the German poet stayed during his stay in Ronda.
• Joaquín Peinado Museum: it is a collection focused on the work of the painter Joaquín Peinado, located in the Palace of the Marqueses of Moctezuma. The different creative stages of the painter are shown through 190 graphic works, oils, watercolors and encaustics.
• Museo del vino de Ronda: the permanent exhibition of the museum focuses on the history of the wine in Ronda, for which various objects related to winemaking have been recovered in the region.

Popular festivals

Romeria in Ronda.

Ronda celebrates the traditional festivals of Andalusia and other places in Spain, such as the Three Kings Parade, carnival, Holy Week, Corpus Christi and various fairs and pilgrimages.

Holy Week in Ronda has been declared of National Tourist Interest in Andalusia. From a religious point of view, it is one of the most important events that takes place every year in the city, taking place in the week of the first full moon of spring. The week runs from Palm Sunday to the following Sunday, which is Easter Sunday, totaling up to 15 processional parades carried out by 14 brotherhoods, among which Holy Wednesday stands out with the brotherhoods of Nuestro Padre Jesús en la Columna and María Santísima de la Esperanza and the Antigua brotherhood of Silence and Holy Thursday with the brotherhoods of Vera+Cruz, El Ecce-Homo and Cristo de la Buena Muerte (The Legion) and, at dawn, the popular brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno and the Virgin of Sorrows.

Goyesco costume

The fairs take place in May (May Fair, better known as the Romantic Round), September (Pedro Romero Fair) and October (San Francisco Fair), of which September is declared of National Tourist Interest in Andalusia, although since 2014 the May Fair also has a considerable number of tourists due to its innovation and the visit of celebrities such as Marta Hazas in 2014 as a herald of this fair. This fair takes place in the center of the city, where all the citizens of Ronda and neighboring towns dress in costumes from the romantic era, hence its name. On the other hand, the Pedro Romero fair, given at the fairgrounds and in the center, is named after the great bullfighter, something that is very characteristic of this fair, bullfighting. Above all, the Goyesca bullfight stands out, named after the painter Goya, which is a group of young people dressed in Goyesca costume consisting of tight jackets, lace skirts, madroñeras and mantillas. In this bullfight, the bullfighter is also dressed in the costume also known as Goyesque. In addition, bullfighters and Goyesques enter the bullring mounted in a carriage.

On the first Sunday of July the pilgrimage of the Virgen de la Cabeza takes place, leaving from the church of La Merced and entering the Mozarabic hermitage of the Virgen de la Cabeza and in May, two processions, that of the Virgin de la Paz Coronada, which holds the title of Patron Saint and mayoress of Ronda, and that of the Virgin Mary Help of Christians. In June Corpus Christi is celebrated, in Ronda called Corpus Chiquito. Currently the May fair is called Ronda Romántica, whose mission is to make people aware of a historical era in which bandits were common.

Of the festivities held in the districts, in Puerto Sauco, together with Acinipo, the festival of Romanía stands out, days set in Roman times in which clothing, gastronomy and other traditions of the time are recreated.

Crafts

In Ronda, articles made of cork, leather, esparto grass, leather, wrought iron, leather goods, wooden furniture, saddlery, marble carving and ceramics are produced by hand. The carpenters have managed to create their own style of wooden furniture that the name of the city and for which designation of origin is sought. The artisan tradition of wood goes back to the end of the XIX century when, as a result of the restoration of the House of the Moorish King, he created the School of Arts and Crafts of Alfonso XIII, in which chestnut and walnut wood, abundant in the region, was worked.

Gastronomy

Ronda's gastronomy is based on simple dishes such as tomato and garlic soups, chickpea or lentil stew, asparagus and mushrooms. Other specialties are the mountain-style roast goat, the alcoholic chorizos and the beef with potatoes, but above all the dishes derived from game stand out, such as partridge al tajo and rabbit a la rondeña. Pumpkins a la rondeña are also traditional dishes. the rondeña, the migas with chorizo, the porridge, the beans with tomato, garlic and ham, the beans with blood sausage, the almond and artichoke soup, the gazpacho a la serrana, the rondeña tortilla and the lamb stew. In confectionery, the Tagus egg yolks and the sweets of the nuns stand out.

Ronda wines are produced under the Sierras de Málaga denomination of origin and are labeled with the name of the Serranía de Ronda sub-zone. Although Ronda's relationship with viticulture goes back a long way, as many place names show, at the end of the XIX century it practically extinguishes the vineyard due to phylloxera. Almost a century later, its wines are reborn with force and since 2004, production has increased notably and white, rosé and red wines are produced.

Round in fiction

• Carmen la de Ronda.
• The Spanish television series Curro Jiménez, whose action was developed mainly in the Serrania de Ronda.
• By whom the bells ringErnest Hemingway's novel.

Music in the Round

Ronda can boast of its great musical culture, thus this municipality has its own Municipal Band of Music Asociación Musical "Aureliano del Real", which has great antiquity and roots in the city. This was instituted in 1942 and the association was established in 1998. It is currently directed by David Gutiérrez Postigo de Álora, who has worked with various national artists such as Diana Navarro, Pasión Vega, Carmen de Carmen, etc. The band has two records, one of pasodobles in 2000 and another of processional marches in 2001.

Today, the band is recognized and supported by the people of Ronda for its good work and great musical quality and it performs in relevant events in its city and its surroundings, such as Christmas concerts, Santa Cecilia patron of music, parades, institutional acts and processional marches contests, she has also performed in the Ciudad de Málaga Contest, as hostess in the Andalusian Bands contest held in Ronda, as well as in Chauchina, Campillos and Málaga contests. This band is of recognized prestige throughout Andalusia and so much so that it accompanies multiple brotherhoods and participates in other acts throughout the geography of this community and even outside of it.

Sports

• 101 kilometers from Ronda. This is a competition organized by the Legion since 1995. This can be done as much as running, as by bicycle.
• C.D. Ronda, team of Group IX of Third Division.
• Round Sport Union, club composed of more than 300 players from all categories distributed in 12 teams.
• Club Baloncesto Ronda, with almost 100 components and 6 teams, two of them in the maximum category of the Malaguian basketball.
• Club de Gimnasia Rítmica AGRA, leads this sport in the Serrania de Ronda, reaching more than 150 participants in this beautiful sports discipline.
• Seiken karate school

Twinnings

• Cuenca, Spain
• Chauen (Morocco)
• Castiglion Fiorentino (Italy)
  Onteniente (Spain)
• Ceuta (Spain)

Notable people