Acinipo, Ronda

Description

Acinipo is located on a limestone table that reaches an altitude of 999 metres and is well-defended on all sides. Underneath it, there is an aquifer that drains into various springs. From its strategic position, the site controls the upper basins of the Guadalhorce and Guadalete rivers. There are iron, copper and lead mines in its surroundings, which facilitated its occupation since prehistoric times. Archaeological excavations indicate that it was first occupied in the Copper Age (3,000 B.C.), and in the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. the place came into contact with the Phoenicians who settled on the coast of Málaga. The Roman presence from 206 BC onwards brought about great changes, such as the construction of monumental buildings and the minting of its own coinage, leading to the rise of the Roman city of Acinipo, which became a Roman municipality in the following centuries. It is notable for its impressive theatre, possibly built in the middle of the 1st century BC, one of the oldest and most unique in ancient Roman Hispania. © iStock / Joaquin Ossorio-Castillo