Setenil grew out of a network of caves in the cliffs.
By John Gill
Named after its once flourishing wineries - bodegas
- Setenil is probably unique among the pueblos blancos, white villages,
of Andalucia. Where most pueblos blancos were built on protective
bluffs and pinnacles, this town grew out of a network of caves in
the cliffs above the rio Trejo north-west of Ronda. Its blinding
white houses seem to emerge from the rocks, and some have rock roofs
and even olive groves on their roofs.
There has been a human settlement here since at
least the Arabic Almohad period in the twelfth century. Given the
evidence of other nearby cave-dwelling societies, such as those
at the Cueva de la Pileta west of Ronda, where habitation has been
tracked back more than 25,000 years, it is possible that Setenil
was occupied much much earlier. Most evidence of this would have
been erased in its continued habitation. It was certainly occupied
during the Roman invasion of the region in the first century AD.
 Modern Setenil begins in 1484, relatively late in
the Christian Reconquest, when the Christian armies expelled its
Moorish, Granada-led Nasrid rulers. It took the Christians fifteen
days to expel the Moors from the (nowadays ruined) castillo, castle,
at the top of the town. The town name is believed to have been taken
from the Roman Latin phrase "septem nihil", "seven
times no", a phrase possibly linked to earlier invasions or
skirmishes. The full moniker Setenil de las Bodegas dates from the
15th century, when its new, Christian, rulers developed an agricultural
base of olives, almonds and vineyards. The first two still flourish
on the hills and rooftops of Setenil, but its wine trade was wiped
out by the phylloxera insect infestation of the 1860s, which effectively
destroyed most European vine stocks.
By prearangement it's possible to visit some of the original cave houses .
Over the intervening centuries, Setenil also gained
a reputation for its meat products, particularly chorizo, sausage,
and cerdo, pork, from pigs bred in the surrounding hills. As well
as meat, it is has a reputation for producing fine pasteles, pastries,
and its bars and restaurants are among the best in the region. Its
outlying farms also provide Ronda and other local towns with much
of their fruit and veg.
The bars and restaurants in Setenil are very popular especially at weekend lunchtime when there is a lively atmosphere including motorbike . Try Bar Restaurante El Mirador in a small street just off the Plaza de Andalucía where numerous cafes serve on the terrace. Tapa hop along Calle Cuevas del Sol starting at Bar Francisco.
As well as the ruined Moorish castle - in theory,
you can climb the vestigial tower, if you're careful - there is
also the nearby church of the Encarnación, and the multi-tiered
warren of steep, narrow streets in this compact, cliff-enclosed
town (motorists beware). The tourism centre is also housed in a
medieval building with a beautiful patterned Moorish wooden ceiling.
Hotel Almendral is a 28 room two star hotel. Casa Rurales can also be hired and a new hotel, the
Hotel Villa de Setenil, is due to open in the end of 2008. However, the tourism office
can advise on nearby accommodation. Interestingly, depending on
the time of year, the tourism office can also arrange, by pre-booking,
visits to some of the cave homes in the town.
If you are driving or hiking in the region of Setenil,
there are two notable sites to visit quite nearby. The magnificent
Roman ruins of first-century AD Acinipo, or Ronda la Vieja ('old
Ronda'), are barely eight kilometres from here, and the views from
above the ruined open-air theatre, complete with stage, backstage
areas and semi-circular seating, are stunning. On the road between
Setenil and Ronda a small signpost on the eastern side of the road
also points to the Bodega Las Monjas (a former nunnery), which produces
the fine local red wine Principe Alfonso, named after the late Principe
Alfonso de Hohenlohe, who founded the bodega - as well as the original
jet-set hangout, the Marbella Club. There's a restaurant (bookings:
961 855 965) and the bodega sells its own wines.
Setenil's major festival is the festival of its
patron saint, Sebastian, on 20 January. It celebrates Carnaval with
every other village in February, prior to Lent. Its annual feria
takes place in the first week of August.
The tourism office is on calle Villa in the upper
town, telephone 956 13 42 61, open Tuesday-Sunday.
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