Medellín

Medellín stands beside the Guadiana beneath a castle hill whose slopes contain remains of the Roman colony of Metellinum, including a theatre. The town was the birthplace of Hernán Cortés, who led the Spanish conquest of Mexico, and was governed by powerful noble lords in the later Middle Ages. On 28 March 1809, during the Peninsular War, French forces defeated the Spanish army near Medellín. The fighting and subsequent occupation brought severe destruction to the town.