A white Andalusian town split by a 120-metre gorge — the birthplace of modern bullfighting
Ronda is dramatically divided by El Tajo gorge, 120 metres deep and 70 metres wide, crossed by the Puente Nuevo bridge whose 18th-century arch frames one of the most photographed views in Spain. Hemingway and Orson Welles both loved this place; Welles's ashes are buried at a nearby friend's ranch. The old Arab town (La Ciudad) retains Moorish baths, a palace, and winding lanes; the Plaza de Toros — built 1785 — is the most important in Spain and houses the museum of modern bullfighting technique.
Ronda was a Phoenician and then Roman settlement (Arunda) before falling to the Visigoths and then to the Moors in 711, under whom it became the capital of the Taifa of Ronda for over three centuries. The Catholic Monarchs took it in 1485 after a heavy siege. The gorge made it naturally defensible — and made large-scale troop movements almost impossible, which is partly why the surrounding Serranía de Ronda sheltered bandits and guerrillas for centuries. Pedro Romero, born here in 1754, codified the rules of modern bullfighting and fought 5,600 bulls without injury.