Built by Mozarab Christians around the time of ibn Hafsun’s uprising during the Umayyad dynasty at the end of the 9th century, Virgen de la Cabeza (Virgin of the Head) is believed to have been primarily a chapel and hermitage for Christian Monks, and is a classic example of Mozarab rupestrian churches, although sadly one of the last remaining.
Also known as the Cuevas de San Antón, the church was originally the site of a small area of worship from shortly after the Arab invasion of Iberia, but during the Mozarab uprising, and while Ronda was nominally independent under ibn Hafsun, the original cave was enlarged to house a permanent hermitage of upto 10 monks. The entire church is not large in comparison to the other churches in Ronda, but is still 272 square metres in area.
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