History of Ronda

As you walk along Calle Marqués de Salvatierra, let’s take a moment to step back through the centuries to understand how this spectacular city became what it is today. Ronda is a place quite literally built on a rock, and its history is as vertiginous as its cliffs. People lived here as far back as prehistory, but it was the Romans who truly founded the city, calling it Arunda.

Later, under Arab rule, Ronda grew into a small cultural and defensive capital, with a medina, baths, fortified walls and a clever network of streets. In 1485, the Catholic Monarchs captured the city, which then developed into an important agricultural and trading hub. In the eighteenth century, the construction of the Puente Nuevo transformed everything: for the first time the two sides of the gorge were connected, allowing the city to expand.

In the nineteenth century, Ronda drew Romantic travellers from across Europe, enchanted by its dramatic scenery, its bandoleros and its frontier spirit. Today, that unique blend remains: an ancient past, a turbulent story and a landscape that has never stopped inspiring those who discover it.