Eglise de Santa María la Mayor

The Church of Santa María la Mayor

The Ronda audio-guided tour leads you to the Church of Santa María la Mayor, on the Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, in the heart of the old town, which sums up two millennia of history.

Two thousand years of superimposed sacred places

At this site succeeded a Roman temple, a Visigothic basilica, then the great mosque of the medina, before the construction of the Christian church after the conquest of 1485 by the Catholic Monarchs. The three-nave Gothic structure and the great Renaissance choir in carved wood testify to the reconstruction undertaken in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, after an earthquake that had seriously damaged the first Christian building. The church preserves a precious memory of the Islamic period: the arch of the mihrab of the former mosque, still visible, and a fragment of wall with Nasrid ornaments. The balconied façade, added under Philip II, allowed the nobility to attend the festivities held on the square.

What there is to see

The Church of Santa María la Mayor invites contemplation in its Gothic naves, before its carved Renaissance choir and the arch of the mihrab inherited from the mosque. The climb to the bell tower offers a 360-degree panoramic view over the old town and the Puente Nuevo. A place where civilisations are superimposed, it is a striking condensed version of the history of Ronda.

Practical information

The Church of Santa María la Mayor is on the Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, in the old town of Ronda. A place of worship, it can be visited with respect for the services, according to hours to be checked on site; access may be subject to a charge.

What was there before the church at this site?

A Roman temple, a Visigothic basilica then the great mosque of the medina, before the Christian church raised after 1485.

What Islamic vestige does the church preserve?

The arch of the mihrab of the former mosque, still visible, as well as a fragment of wall with Nasrid-style ornaments.