RONDA  , a

town of southern Spain, in the province of Malaga; on the river Guadiaro and on the Algeciras-Bobadilla railway . Pop . (1900) 20,995 . Ronda is built on a high rock nearly surrounded by the Guadiaro, which flows through an abrupt chasm 530 ft. deep and 300 ft. wide, by which the old town is separated from the new . Of the three bridges, one is said to have been built by the Romans, another by the Moors; the most modern (1761) spans the stream in a single arch at a height of about 255 ft . On the edge of the chasm is the alameda or public promenade, commanding a wide and beautiful prospect of the fertile valley or vega and the sierras beyond . The old part of the town has a Moorish aspect, with narrow, steep and crooked lanes, and still retains some Moorish towers and other medieval buildings . The Ronda bull-ring is one of the finest in Spain, and can accommodate fo,000 spectators . Ronda has a considerable trade in leather, saddlery, horses, soap, flour, chocolate, wine and hats . Some remains of an aqueduct and theatre, about 7 M . N. of Ronda, are supposed to represent the Acinipo or Arunda of ancient geographers . Ronda was taken from the Moors in 1485 .

It gives its name to the Sierra or Serrania de Ronda, one of the

main sections of the coast mountains which rise between the great plain of Andalusia and the Mediterranean .