COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA LA MAYOR

Once Ronda had ben conquered, the main mosque was slowly converted into a Christian Church.
Originally this church had the status of an abbey with a special, almost bishopric, jurisdiction. During the rein of the House of Austrian it became a collegiate church and in the 19th century was converted into a High Parish.

The building has a cathedral-loke fell to it. It is built of masonry and was contructed in two phases; the Gothic part, which must have been undertaken very early and coincides with the shape of the former mosque, and the enlargement of the northern pasrt, begun after the earthquake of 1580 and which would take up until the 18th Century, displaying a mixture of styles ranging from Renaissance up to baroque.



Some remains of the Mirhab of the Muslim building have survived, as well as a large part of its original shape, dating from between the 13th and 14th Centuries. It is interesting to note the North African influences that can be seen in these remains.

The main façade opens into the square, with superimposed verandas that served as boxes from which the festivities that were often celebrated there could be observed