The Ronda olive oil mill that is a work of art in itself

Juan Soto

Malaga

Tuesday, 25 March 2025, 00:19

We could safely say that LA Almazara is a building where one of the best olive oils in Malaga province is produced. We could also say, without a doubt, that it is an avant-garde work of art designed by the architect Philippe Starck. Thirdly, we could also clearly state that it is a luxurious complex that has made olive oil tourism fashionable in the Serranía de Ronda and is visited by all kinds of people looking for a different kind of leisure experience.

LA Almazara is located just a few kilometres from the centre of Ronda on a 26-hectare estate surrounded by ancient olive trees (some are up to 800 years old). The facilities produce 60,000 litres of organic oil every year, no additives, from early-harvest olives gathered between the end of September and the beginning of November.

Despite its groundbreaking architectural aesthetic, the history of this area for olive oil production goes back 200 years when the nearby Finca La Amarilla, then a monastery run by nuns, produced an oil of excellent quality. In the year 2000 Starck, who fell in love with the area, and Pedro Gómez de Baeza from La Amarilla, set out to produce an organic oil that would compete on a global level.

The first commercial harvest went on sale in 2004 and their first business goal has now been achieved: LA Organic (the label under which the oil is marketed) is exported to over 25 countries across five continents. The oil is used by some of the most famous international companies on the planet, names like Starbucks and British Airlines.

Once all the gear was in place they launched the olive oil tourism project in 2018. Then the main feature building was inaugurated in October 2024 as the final milestone of the project led by the French architect. According to those responsible for the project, it is a complex that "has placed Ronda on the map of the artistic avant-garde with a living work of art that is a tribute to the area's olive oil culture, Ronda's tradition and its people."

The building itself is conceived as an enormous sculpture of 900 square metres and 35 metres high. Inside are a museum dedicated to EVOO (extra virgin olive oil, AOVE in Spanish), an auditorium with a seating capacity for about 100 people and plans are in place for the future to open a restaurant with views of the Serranía. The complex is completed with a farmhouse designed for tourist accommodation and a bar facility.

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To gain a first-hand look at all the ins and outs of the project, we visited the main building with Jorge Amat, marketing director at LA Almazara. He explains that Starck is absolutely in love with Andalucía, its light and its grandeur, which is why all these elements are reflected in the interior of the mill building.

The French architect defines it as "an unusual, incredible and miraculous place where visitors can enjoy a powerful and radical experience that challenges and transforms. It is an accumulation of mysteries where the crystallised respect for olive oil blends with emotion." For its creation he has used different techniques ranging from the brutalism of the materials used to build it (made with Corten steel and concrete) to the austerity of the forms and the surrealism of the sculptures that adorn the place. Throughout the entire walk-through there are multiple references to bullfighting, in fact the building as a whole is shaped like a bull: on one side is an enormous horn, on another an object shaped like a bull's ear and finally an eye in the style of Picasso.

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Visitors enter through the back and, just before entering, they will find the first surprise: several strategically placed mirrors reflecting the immensity of the surrounding countryside, the olive grove and themselves amid all this splendour.

On the outside of the main building, a huge waterfall cascades over the figure of a human bust with which the architect wants to represent the idea of a tribe, in reference to the number of civilisations that have been passing on their knowledge of oil since the Sumerians, who were among the first to cultivate olive trees and use the liquid gold for both culinary and medicinal purposes. The same bust is replicated inside the building - its dimensions are colossal.

Inside the mill, the light is dimmed "to create an atmosphere of alchemy around the oil" and to highlight all the sculptures and paintings in the museum space, as the production area is on the lower level, completely isolated. At the entrance there is a large painting of Ronda bullfighter Pedro Romero as the first nod to bullfighting, and a huge portrait of the designer's daughter, Ara Starck, covers the ceiling, along with countless references to the history of the area where they are located.

During the tour there is an extensive review of the history of olive oil over the centuries. There is also a portrait of Abbas Ibn Firnas, the Ronda scientist who was a pioneer in aeronautics and who created a kind of hang glider with which to fly (around 875AD, some 600 years before Da Vinci). A model of his invention has been recreated to fly over the building. The lower part houses the auditorium and the future restaurant with views of the Serranía.

The mill's production space is located on a lower level, although it is visible from the ground floor thanks to the glass flooring. In this space four different types of oil are produced with olives from picual, hojiblanca, arbequina and picudo varieties. They are all of high quality, having won the Flos Olei for 'best single varietal olive oil' (a premium olive oil guide) and a gold medal at the International Olive Oil Award Zurich, among other prizes. Still, this is only the beginning.