Plaza de Toros
Built in 1785, the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda is Spain’s oldest purpose-built bullring. It is the setting for the annual Feria Goyesca, which takes place in early September in honor of Pedro Romero (1754–1839), the legendary matador and inspiration for Goya’s famous bullfight etchings and paintings. During the festival, toreros dress in the 18th-century costumes depicted by Goya. If you visit only one bullfighting museum while in Spain, make it the Museo Taurino, set within the curved halls of the ring. Exhibits and a comprehensive audio guide document the history of Ronda’s two great bullfighting dynasties, Romero and Ordóñez. Francisco Romero, born in 1700, invented the muleta, the red cape attached to a stick that’s used in the last phase of the bullfight. His grandson Pedro dispatched more than 5,000 bulls during a 30-year career, a feat never surpassed. In the modern era, Cayetano Ordóñez and his son Antonio were immortalized by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises and The Dangerous Summer. The museum shop sells back-number posters for the Corrida Goyesca, designed by famous Spanish artists, including Picasso.
Built in 1785, the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda is Spain’s oldest purpose-built bullring. It is the setting for the annual Feria Goyesca, which takes place in early September in honor of Pedro Romero (1754–1839), the legendary matador and inspiration for Goya’s famous bullfight etchings and paintings. During the festival, toreros dress in the 18th-century costumes depicted by Goya. If you visit only one bullfighting museum while in Spain, make it the Museo Taurino, set within the curved halls of the ring. Exhibits and a comprehensive audio guide document the history of Ronda’s two great bullfighting dynasties, Romero and Ordóñez. Francisco Romero, born in 1700, invented the muleta, the red cape attached to a stick that’s used in the last phase of the bullfight. His grandson Pedro dispatched more than 5,000 bulls during a 30-year career, a feat never surpassed. In the modern era, Cayetano Ordóñez and his son Antonio were immortalized by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises and The Dangerous Summer. The museum shop sells back-number posters for the Corrida Goyesca, designed by famous Spanish artists, including Picasso.
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