The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly were all filmed here. So, for that matter, were Lawrence of Arabia, El Cid and at least one version of Zorro.
But this is not a part of the Wild West, not even close, but rather the Desert of Tabernas in southern Spain - a wild, arid region that happens to look just the part.
Here are some mouldering film sets, constructed for what picture I could not ascertain. The wind whistles by carrying flurries of dust, dessicated twigs crackle underfoot, the sun beats down even during late October, and these ruins continue to disintegrate.
Anonymous or not, this is a highly atmospheric place. I imagined action taking place, horses galloping, stage coaches and wagons clattering up, all to the whir of cameras. How busy this must have been, and how many iconic images created? (And how many more that have been forgotten totally and utterly.)
Who trod this dust in pursuit of the goals of cinema? A little research digs up John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Yul Brynner, Alec Guinness, Charlton Heston and Clint Eastwood as visitors to the Desert of Tabernas. Did they, like me, stand here on a hot afternoon thinking of a nice cool drink? It must have been gruelling work filming out here.
It is impossible to imagine this little piece of cultural "history" not being commercialised even in a backwater of Europe. The result is unfortunate. Surely they have Google down there, or even an old-fashioned paper map, to explain where Hollywood is located and how the name is spelled. Memory of this sign did, however, bring D and I many laughs over the following days.