The term Santiscal comes from a Roman country villa located in the grounds of the Hacienda that was discovered in the late nineteenth century. The area known comprising a peristyle, a swimming pool, water pipes and various mosaics among which figured the only issue with the representation of Venus and Adonis. The building and pavement indicate extensive use of the villa throughout the Roman empire until the sixth century which accounts for the Visigothic Bulgarico tombstone, found in 1890. Story has it there was once a knight called Juan de Armario.In 1485, when Ronda was laid to siege by the Christians, he was the first to enter the mine where the moors kept all their supplies and died in the venture. As a reward for his bravery, the King granted the knight’s sons five estates at the foot of the Sierra del Santiscal mountain range, where they built what would become the family residence, today called Hacienda El Santiscal. This beautiful fortified building has magnificent views to the Lake and its Nature Park thanks to its strategic location.