History

Churches in Ronda

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churches and religion in ronda

Ronda is famous for it’s churches built after the reconquest as Catholic Spain asserted it’s control over the formerly Muslim city. Four of the many churches in Ronda are especially noted for their architecture or the story behind them, and all are part of every great tour of Ronda.

Christianity in Ronda began with Visigothic control of Iberia after the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, and quickly became the dominant faith. Arab invaders entered Iberia and overran the Visigoths beginning in 711 AD, and until 1485 Ronda was a Muslim stronghold alternating between liberal interpretations of Muslim faith and the more conservative Sharia versions.

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Romans in Ronda

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Acinipo, Ronda la Vieja

The Roman Empire had been expanding out of the Italian peninsula and finally found it’s way to Iberia as Roman and Carthaginian forces battled for control of the Mediterranean, and sadly the peace known around Ronda was shattered beginning in the 2nd century BC. Rome and Carthage fought two bloody and protracted wars, with Spain suffering terribly as Roman armies vied for control of key supply routes.

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Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows (Templete de la Virgen de los Dolores)

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Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows (Templete de la Virgen de los Dolores) - Ronda

Ronda and the Serrania surround it have been lawless lands for millennia, not even the iron grip of the Almohads could stamp out rebellions and banditry, so it is hardly surprising that capital punishment has been so widely used.

In Ronda (close to the junction between Calle Santa Cecilia and Calle Virgen de los Dolores) nowhere is this more obvious and chilling than the Temple of Our Lady of Sorrows, also known as the Shrine of the Hanged, with its frightening depictions of condemned men’s eyes bulging as they desperately try to get a last breath while the hangman’s noose crushes their windpipe.

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The Romero Dynasty and Ronda’s Bandoleros

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Bandoleros (bandits) in Ronda history

Bullfighting and banditry almost go hand in hand in Ronda, or at least they did in the early days when the Romero dynasty first came to prominence. A major part of the culture and history of modern Andalucia, bullfighting shows no signs of diminishing in Southern Spain, in fact both main political parties in the parliament of Andalucia seem determined to protect the art for the enjoyment of future generations.

Banditry on the other hand has had a much longer history, and these days is nothing more than a romantic memory, the last bandits having been shot or arrested by Franco’s Guardia Civil in the middle of the 20th century. Starting in the 9th century during the rise of the Islamic era, banditry was often more about politics and tax avoidance than outright thievery, though of course the objective was always to relieve wealthier people of their precious possessions.

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