Ronda village to open museum dedicated to its popular religious figure, Fray Leopoldo

The village of Alpandeire in Malaga provice's Serranía de Ronda plans to open a museum dedicated to Fray Leopoldo, its most illustrious former resident, who remains highly revered. As explained by the mayor, María Dolores Bullón, the town hall will allocate around 80,000 euros from the provincial authority of Malaga to fund the project.

This 'pueblo blanco' in the Genal valley has been involved in the creation of a Fray Leopoldo information centre for years. A building has been constructed on the outskirts of the town, with one floor dedicated as an event space, while the lower floor will house the museum that will review the life of the religious figure.

The work will start in the next few weeks, said Bullón, in the area of El Cerrejón, where the building is located, next to the municipal swimming pool. "The ground floor will be converted into an exhibition space divided into different areas in which a large part of the legacy and the life and work of the popular friar will be displayed and made known in depth," said Bullón, who added that different pieces that have been donated for this purpose will be exhibited.

It is hoped, the mayor said, that the space will become "a new focal point for tourism in the region and aims to become a catalyst that encourages travellers to visit the village, which will contribute to revitalising the economy of Alpandeire and its surroundings." The town hall and the provincial authority, as well as residents and devotees of the religious figure, who was born in the village on 24 June 1864 and left at the age of 33 to become a friar, have been collaborating on this project.

Fray Leopoldo passed through Seville and Antequera and joined the Capuchin Order of Granada, where he served as a friar for over forty years. He died in Granada in 1956 and was beatified in 2010.

In the Serranía de Ronda there is already a hiking route dedicated to him, which follows the path he took from Jimera de Líbar to return to his village from Granada, while there is a comprehensive project to develop the entire route.