Casa Don Bosco

Casa Museo Don Bosco is a historic mansion in the heart of Ronda's old town, in the province of Málaga. Built around 1850, it was thoroughly remodelled in the early 20th century in modernist style, and today it operates as a museum open to visitors.

Where does the name come from?

The house was originally built for the engineer Don Francisco Granadino Pérez and his wife, Doña Dolores Gómez Martínez. The couple had no children, so at the start of the 20th century they commissioned architect Santiago Sanguinetti to redesign the mansion in the modernist style it still carries today. After the owners' deaths, the property was donated to the local Salesian Catholic Congregation, and in 1939 it became the basis for the Granadino Foundation of Saint John Bosco — the source of the name "Casa Don Bosco," honoring the Italian priest who founded the Salesian order.

What has the building been used for?

Following the wishes of its founders, the house was meant to serve as a place of rest and recovery for members of the Salesian community. The sanatorium opened on 15 September 1940 and operated continuously until 2008. Over the following decades the building took on several other roles: it housed a student boarding facility, a youth centre, and the Teatro Español Salesiano, and its rooms were also used for cultural, social and religious activities. Only in 2008 was the mansion converted into the museum visitors see today, with its original interior décor kept largely intact.

What will you see inside?

The interior survives in an almost untouched modernist state from the early 1900s. A highlight is the inner courtyard tiled with Nazari-inspired ceramics, alongside a collection of regional pottery. The living quarters display 19th-century tapestries with pastoral motifs and hand-carved walnut furniture in the Castilian style of the 18th and 19th centuries. Together, the rooms give a sense of both the life of a wealthy Andalusian family more than a century ago and the building's later role as a place of rest and religious formation.

How do you get there?

Casa Museo Don Bosco stands at Calle Tenorio 20, within Ronda's historic centre, an easy walk from the city's main landmarks, including the famous Puente Nuevo bridge. The mansion sits on the edge of the cliff around which the town is built, so the surrounding streets offer views over the El Tajo gorge — a good reason to pair a museum visit with a stroll through the old quarter.

When should you visit?

The museum is open every day except Tuesdays, making it easy to fit into a Ronda itinerary at any time of year. Given its modest size, a visit typically takes 30 to 45 minutes, so it pairs comfortably with the rest of the town's sights in a single day.

Frequently asked questions

What is Casa Museo Don Bosco? A historic mid-19th-century mansion, remodelled in modernist style, that has operated as a museum since 2008, showcasing its original interiors and the history of the Granadino family and the Salesians.

Where does the building's name come from? From Saint John Bosco, the Italian priest who founded the Salesian order — the Salesians inherited the house and ran a sanatorium there for decades.

Was the building always a museum? No. From 1940 to 2008 it operated as a sanatorium for members of the Salesian community, and before and after that it also served educational and cultural purposes.

Where exactly is the museum located? At Calle Tenorio 20, in Ronda's historic centre, close to the edge of the El Tajo gorge and the Puente Nuevo bridge.