While some trace the lineage of the Spanish Fighting Bull back to Roman times, today’s fighting bulls in the Iberian peninsula and in the former Spanish Empire trace back to Andalusia in the 15th and 16th centuries. Andalusia remains a centre of bull-rearing and bullfighting: its 227 fincas de ganado where fighting bulls are raised cover 146,917 hectares (363,040 acres). In the year 2000, Andalusia’s roughly 100 bullrings hosted 1,139 corridas.

The oldest bullring still in use in Spain is the neoclassical Plaza de toros in Ronda, built in 1784. The Andalusian Autonomous Government sponsors the Rutas de Andalucía taurina, a touristic route through the region centred on bullfighting.