〈italiano〉
Rodalquilar is a small town of less than 200 inhabitants in the area of Cabo de Gata. The mines, which also produced gold, were abandoned following the exhaustion of the metal strands in 1966.
In addition to the abandoned mines, high behind the village, very impressive, what struck me even more is a part area of the village below, also completely abandoned, consisting of a series of houses all the same where the miners were staying at that time.
The rest of the population lives in an adjacent part of the village where there are mainly bars and restaurants.
In this area, from the Minas de Rodalquilar down to the large El Playazo beach, many scenes of Sergio Leone’s films take place.
Minas de Rodalquilar
In the rather rough dirt road that goes from Cortijo del Fraile to Rodalquilar passing through the Minas, some scenes of the film Duck yo Sucker take place, especially the meeting between Juan and John (or, better, Sean, being a former Irish terrorist ).
Coordinates: 36.851707 -2.050998 (these coordinates are just indicative; if you go down the road you can easily recognize the places where the scenes of the film were shot).
The following is the scene of the approaching military column of Gunter Resa; it is along the same road. On the left of the road you can see a first building. To reach the area you have to go through a cross dirt road (which is sometimes barred). Once reached the area you will find a hidden mining road, where in fact the scene was shot, and where there are still some of the buildings that are seen in the film.
Coordinates: 36.855191 -2.060671
Indio gang ride.
Just near the junction for El Playazo beach you can easily spot the shot of ride of Indio and his band in For a few Dollars more. If you look closely there is still the white building of the film, almost completely destroyed. Just a perfect photo.
Torre de los Alumbres
It is located on the road from Rodalquilar to El Playazo beach; it was built in 1509 to defend the Rodalquilar gold mines from frequent attacks by Berber pirates.
Coordinates: 36.8551409,-2.0173216
In the film For a few Dollars more, this is the exterior of the Indio house (the interior is the church of Turrillas).
In Duck you Sucker Sean collapses with explosive the building where Mr. Ashenbach, owner of the mines for which Sean himself works, is at the moment. In this way Juan is sure that Sean will accept the offer to assault the bank of Mesa Verde together.
Note how in this film a false bell tower was built which is collapsed by the explosion.
As I came here again in 2022 here is a little summary:
On the road to El Playazo
On the road that starts from Rodalquilar and goes towards El Playazo via the Torre de los Alumbres, some scenes with great rides are shot.
For a Few Dollars More:
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly:
El Playazo – Bateria de San Ramon
This is one of the fortresses defending the coast between Almeria and Malaga. It was built in 1764 and has been a private home since the mid-nineteenth century.
The fortress is right next to El Playazo beach.
Here, in The Good, the Bad, the Ugly Sentenza, in pursuit of Tuco and the Blond, meets a southerner camp.
Some of the photos below are not taken in the right perspective; we will do better next time.
….and then, in 2017, we took the right shots:
Unscheduled (2019)
I have realized that, especially in the scenario of the main buildings of the abandoned mines, now slightly restored and more accessible than a few years ago, other types of films have been set, especially fabulous or science fiction.
Here are a couple of interesting scenes. One relating to Solar Warriors, 1986, also known as Solarbabies. The other from The Reckoning, 2003, released in Spain as El Mistero de Wells.
The scenario is modified with digital techniques but it is still very nice to recognize the structures of the mine.
MEGLIO UN GIORNO DA LEONE 