MUSEUM

The Bullfighting Museum, placed beneath the public galleries, provides a chronological tour of the culture of the bull and the basic aspects of the bullfight, the Fiesta, its origins and links to the art of horse riding, the role of Ronda and its bullfighting dynasties headed by Pedro Romero and Antonio Ordóñez. Among the exhibits the visitor will find a splendid collection of engravings, lithographs and prints including a full set of Goya's Tauromaquia, works by Victor Adam and Lake Price; books and engravings on equestrianism, oil paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries; a collection of bullfighting costumes and other memorabilia and posters of recent bullfights, all based on original work commissioned from leading artists such as Arroyo, Barceló, Campano, Félix de Cárdenas, Darío Villalba, Pérez Villalta, Úrculo, etc.

The Royal Harness Collection of the House of Orleans comprises a complete set of harnesses, saddles and livery presented by the King of France, Louis-Phillippe d'Orléans, to his son the Duke of Montpensier. The exhibition also includes the spectacular mameluke saddles and the Turkish style saddlery (talabartería) produced in the Parisian workshops of the 19th century.

The itinerary continues with the Collection of Antique Firearms. There are some 300 pieces including originals from the armouries of Philip IV and Charles III, European pistols and rifles of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (flintlock, hammer, wheel and pin); other pieces from the armouries of Louis XIV, Napoleon or English monarchs; Venetian, Indian and English pistols, as well as harquebuses used in the Spanish War of Succession.

Finally, the Real Maestranza Gallery aims to show the origins of this chivalrous institution, linked to the military orders of the Middle Ages, and its role in the history of Ronda. The Gallery contains pictures, arms, uniforms, documents and other materials.

This interesting selection of historical and cultural content (tauromachy, equestrianism and chivalry, antique firearms) is only available as part of the visit to the bullring complex.