User:CASAREYMORO/Casa del Rey Moro (Ronda)



The House of the King Moor of Ronda (Malaga) is a monumental group with a long history that begins in the fourteenth century and reaches until the twentieth century. It consists of three parts: a water mine from the Muslim period, a Neomudéjar style house and a garden designed by Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier declared of Cultural Interest (BIC) in 1943.

It has a full extension on the ground of approximately 3,700 m2. The whole is elevated on the escarpment of the Tagus, in the northern area of the old Muslim city, just opposite the Puerta de Almocábar and the old Alcázar.

Currently the mine and the garden are open to the public for their visit (Monday to Sunday).

History
The history of this place began during the government of the "Moorish king" to whom his name alludes: Abomelic, son of the Sultan of Fez and member of the Merino dynasty.

It happened in the fourteenth century, when the Marinids controlled some cities on the western frontier of the Nazari Kingdom. In return, those troops from North Africa offered Granada protection against the Castilian armies.

The chronicles say that a member of the Merino dynasty ruled the western frontier of the Nazari Kingdom between 1331 and 1339. He was the firstborn son of Abu-l-Hasan, Sultan of Fez. And perhaps that is why it was known as Abd-al-Malik Abd al Wahid, since the Arabic expression abn almalik literally means "son of the king."

Upon accessing the throne of Fez, Abu-l-Hasan had agreed to an alliance with the King of Granada, Muhammad IV, who barely had enough military power to stop the Castilian advance. It was about sending their troops from North Africa to defend the western flank of the Nazari Kingdom. In return, the meriníes of Fez obtained great parcels of power in important cities of this zone, constituting a species of "proteinrado meriní" in the Kingdom Nazarí.

Ronda was crucial in the defense of the Kingdom and for this reason it had to be fortified. For this, the mine was created, which allowed to extract the water from the river through a large wheel installed in one of its rooms. Those in charge of the exhausting effort to operate it were the Christian slaves, who also carried the zaques of water to the outside. It was a safe way to provide water to the population at times of siege, since the lower part of the construction was fortified.

For this reason, the mine played a key role in 1485, during the conquest of Ronda by the Castilian army. Knowing the importance of the mine, the troops of the Marquis of Cádiz attacked it until they reached a weak flank: they disabled the Ferris wheel, cut off the water supply and thus surrendered the city in a matter of days. The space was years without urbanizing, until in the 18th century a house was built on the mine. Since 1767, it belonged to several members of the Salvatierra family. And in 1911, it was sold to the owner who did the most for its renovation: Trinidad von Scholtz Hermensdorff, Duchess of Parcent. This owner expanded and renovated the house in neo-Mudejar style and commissioned the design of a garden to Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier. This French landscape painter had come to Spain to design the gardens of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 in Seville. Forestier was inspired for his creation in the Hispano-Muslim gardens and also in the French tradition. In 1943, it was declared a Garden, today it holds the highest degree of protection of heritage, with the category of National Monument.

The Water Mine
The water mine is one of the main hydraulic engineering works built in the Nazari Kingdom during the 14th century. Currently, it is the best preserved in Andalusia. Its purpose was to extract water from the river to supply it safely to the walled population in cases of siege. Therefore, along with the walls of Ronda, was part of its defensive system.It was built at the time when King Abomelic ruled the city. For this, the crack that existed in the wall of the Tagus was excavated in depth, looking for the bed of the river: steps were carved into the rock to create a descendant gallery, covered with vaults. In the descent is the Hall of the Noria, named for housing the large wheel used to extract the water. The narrowness of the gallery prevented the access of animals, so this ingenuity had to be activated by people: it was the Christian slaves who turned it, carried the water zaques and then climbed with them through the gallery back to the city. At several points in the gallery, the rests served to support these zaques and facilitate the ascent Below this room the construction was fortified with a tower. In its interior is the Weapons Room, where stores were stored, the garrison was housed and the

attacks with arrows or boiling liquids repelled. To facilitate defense, there was a well at a lower level. It was in the Hall of Secrets, which is named after the curious sound effect of its dome: a whispered voice at one of the corners multiplies its sound until it is heard clearly in another of them.

In the lowest part of this tower, a small door opened towards the river served for the flight.

The House
What was the housing area of the Casa del Rey Moro is actually made up of a sum of several buildings. The main nucleus was a house from the beginning of the XVIII century, with the usual structure of the Andalusian houses of the aristocracy: it consisted of a series of rooms around a patio, distributed in two heights.

DFrom 1767, Jacinto Salvatierra was the first member of this noble family that owned this house: he ennobled it with a cover where he placed the coat of arms of his lineage, today destroyed. It was inherited by successive relatives until the beginning of the 20th century, when it was acquired by the American billionaire Lawrence Perin, who once again placed the monument in the spotlight for academics and those interested in the history and culture of Ronda.

Shortly after in 1911, Trinidad von Scholtz Hermensdorff acquired the House of the Moorish King and completely renovated the housing area. His initiative consisted in buying the neighboring houses: he demolished those on the east side to create a garden; those on the west side incorporated them into the main nucleus, ordering the whole construction to be reformed in neo-Mudejar style.

In this renovated house from the initiative of the Duchess of Parcent, that style is perceived in the use of the green glazed tile to cover the roofs, the brickwork with ornamental forms and the use of tile decorations.

The Garden
At the Casa del Rey Moro, the French landscape architect Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier wanted to create a garden for the senses based on his concept of "Mediterranean garden".

It is a type of garden inspired by Hispano-Muslim art, reminiscent of the gardens of the Alhambra or the Alcazar of Seville; that integrates fruit trees and aromatic plants, adapted to the climate of Ronda to provoke sensations throughout the year; and that is organized through geometric parterres evoking the French landscape tradition.

Through three terraces with a small gap between them, Forestier organized the narrow space for the garden, which looks on the north side towards the Tagus. Brief staircases link each terrace to save this difference. And the water in movement is what unites them: in the upper terrace, Forestier installed a fountain that pours its water into a channel that flows until it empties into the pond of the lower terrace. This longitudinal canal, with avenues to walk on the sides, evokes the characteristic garden-garden of Islamic culture, traditionally developed in courtyards with irrigation ditches.

Bibliography and links of interest
Añón, C. Luengo M. & Luengo A. (1995): Jardines artísticos de España. Editorial Espasa- Calpe. Madrid.

Audurier Cros, A. (1993). «Jardines mediterráneos», Mediterráneo, 77 (1), pp. 77-80.

Casa Valdés, M. de (1987): Jardines de España. Valencia.

Domínguez Peláez, C. (1987): Los jardines de Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier en España, Universidad de Sevilla.

Forestier, J.C.N. (1985): ''Jardines. Cuadernos de dibujos y planos''. Editorial Stylos, Barcelona.

Garrido Domínguez, F. (1991): La Mina secreta del Palacio del Rey Moro de Ronda. Albia-Grupo Espasa. Madrid.

Hernández Cros, J. E. (1982). Forestier a Barcelona. Quaderns d'arquitectura i urbanisme, (151), pp. 27-39.

IAPH (2018): Jardines de la Casa del Rey Moro.

Iturbe, P. (1954): Érase una vez: bocetos de mi juventud, Ed. Seix Barral, Madrid.

López Jiménez, J. (2013): «Las corachas en al-Andalus. Las corachas-minas en la frontera nazarí occidental», Takurunna: Anuario de Estudios sobre Ronda y La Serranía, Nº. 3, pp. 71-90.

Miró, A. (1985): «Sistema defensivo de Ronda en época medieval», Boletín de Arte, nº 6, pp.71-92, Universidad de Málaga.

Miró, A. (1986): ''Ronda. Arquitectura y Urbanismo''. Confederación Española de Cajas de Ahorro. Málaga.

Muñoz Bolaños, R. (2012): «El Salado 1340. El fin del problema del estrecho», Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar, Vol. 1, Nº. 2, 2012, pp. 153-184.

Pastor Pérez, F. (1979): «El Neomudéjar y su contenido Historicista en Málaga», Baética: Estudios de arte, geografía e historia, Nº 2, 1, pp. 53-60.

Pavón Maldonado, B. (1990): ''Tratado de arquitectura hispano musulmana. I Agua.'' CSIC.

Pérez de Guzmán y Gallo, J. (1910): La Casa del Rey Moro en Ronda, Informe a la Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.

Ramos Frendo, E.M. (2001): «Las duquesas de Parcent, dos malagueñas en pos de la cultura y las artes», Revista Jábega, nº 88, pp. 63-70, Diputación de Málaga.

Vigil Escalera Pacheco, M. (1995): «El jardín de la Casa del Rey Moro de Ronda», Revista Puente Nuevo Centro Andaluz de Ronda 6, pp. 75-80.