A Surrealist Olive Oil Temple in Ronda - La Almazara

Hello friends. I recently had the chance to visit the town of Ronda, right in the heart of Andalusia. I had been here before. But a new reason emerged to visit once again, because an amazing structure opened here in recent years. This is La Almazara. Almazara translates from Spanish as oil mill, meaning this is a place where olive oil is produced. And Andalusia naturally, is famous for this wonderful delicacy. Gómez de Baeza, together with the well known Philippe Starck, decided to draw attention to this traditional Spanish product and they created this wonderful building which is at once an experience center and an olive oil museum.

It is a concrete mass with a very characteristic color. Moreover the choice of color is certainly not accidental. This color matches the color of the sand spread across corrida arenas. And generally speaking, Ronda is the center of the corrida. The center of this bullfighting culture. Indeed the building itself naturally features elements and hints of this corrida and all of this looks incredibly surreal. Why surreal? Because Andalusia is also known for its own unique artistic culture. In particular we remember that Pablo Picasso was very much drawn to these bulls, having been deeply fascinated by the corrida spectacle in his time. And the eye here, the bull's eye, looks precisely in the direction of Malaga, where Pablo Picasso was originally from.

Inside this unusual building there is a museum, a restaurant and tours are organized there. There is also of course, the oil mill itself. In fact this oil mill was used at the end of last year to press its very first harvest or rather, to press the local olive harvest in this mill for the first time. We actually visited the olive grove first. This olive grove is also very unusual. It is esentially a botanical garden, because it features olive trees from various regions of the world where olive oil is produced. So France is represented here, Italy is here and naturally Portugal is here too, resulting in completely different varieties.

As for the interior there is a horn and a giant sword embedded in the wall. The very sword used by the torero in his fight against the bulls. There is also a massive pipe through which olives were transported to this mill at the end of last year. In the basement you find the actual olive oil production factory. So here you see the funnel itself and inside you see a pavilion resembling an inverted funnel. On the other hand, it could be described as a temple. A temple of olive oil production. On the ceiling, there is a very interesting painting signed by Ara Starck, the daughter of Philippe Starck. It, too, incorporates all the traditional elements of Ronda.

Then we see a red area.This is to be honest, the corrida arena. We see a worker. This is actuall a tribute to the people who cultivate these olives and obtain this oil through heavy agricultural labor. There is a green river. This is, in fact the oil itself. We see birds, embodying the nature of this region. We also see the arches of Ronda’s famous New Bridge, which of course is no longer very new, as it was built in the 19th century. And naturally, there are even more famous heroes here. This is Pedro Romero, Ronda's famous torero, whose festival is celebrated in this town. There is also Abbas Ibn Firnas. As the name suggests he is a Moor. We remember, that Andalusia remained under Arab rule for quite a long time. Abbas Ibn Firnas is a very interesting figure because he was a scientist, a poet and an inventor. By the way he was the first to invent a hang glider-like apparatus.Wings that could be attached to fly. In the grand scheme of things, he is the first aviator and he lived right here in Ronda.

Set against the backdrop of the pastoral Andalusian landscape, the building certainly looks like an alien ship. Using this unusual architecture which could even be called a work of land art, to draw attention is definitely a great idea. This project aimed to attract the attention of the public, the general audience and the vast number of tourists to Spain's olive oil culture. Because according to Gómez de Baeza’s idea, Spanish olive oil is somewhat underestimated and to a certain degree, remains in the shadow of its Italian counterparts.

A few details that I particularly liked. First this wonderful balcony orterrace suspended by huge chains that pass through the wall and are secured inside. Here you can enjoy a wonderful lunch accompanied by this mesmerizing view of the olive groves. I also liked the fireplace, which seems like something to be enjoyed in the evenings. Moreover the chimney of this fireplace leads right up to a bull's eye. Naturally when it is lit, the effect is wonderful not just inside, but outside as well. I must say this place is very, very impressive.

When you are on the Costa del Sol, when you are in Andalusia and when you go to see Ronda, I highly recommend stopping by. That’s all for today. See you on the next journey.