Ronda - Casa del Rey Moro

Ronda was known to the Romans by the name of Arunda. At the end of the Roman Empire it was taken by the Suebi and later part of the Visigoth realm. In 713 it fell to the Berbers, who built a castle on the Roman foundations. The troops of the Marquis of Cádiz conquered Ronda after a siege in 1485.

The Spanish decreed that all Muslims must either convert to Christianity or leave Spain without their belongings. Muslims who converted were called Moriscos, they had to wear upon their hats a blue crescent. In 1566 Philip II decreed the use of the Arabic language illegal, required that doors open on Fridays to verify that no Muslim Friday prayers were conducted. This led to a rebellion. The Muslim soldiers defeated the Spanish army sent to suppress them. The massacre prompted Phillip II to order the expulsion of all Moriscos in Ronda.

Ronda´s Moorish old town, La Ciudad, is located on a steeply sloping rock plateau. The old town is separated from the younger part, El Mercadillo, by the "Tajo de Ronda" a narrow gorge almost 100 meters deep, formed by the Guadalevín River.

The "Casa del Rey Moro" was built as a fortress in the 14th century, when a vertical staircase was erected under the building to ensure the city's water supply. The popular tradition tells many mystical legends about this building, but it only became a palace after it was rebuilt in the 18th century.

The fantastic garden with its fountains was designed in 1912 by the famous French landscape architect Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier on behalf of the Duchess of Parcent, the then owner of the house.