Ciudad Rodrigo is located in the southwest of the province of Salamanca, whose capital lies just over eighty kilometres away, a few kilometres from the Portuguese border to the west. The village is also located a few kilometres from the border of Cáceres to the south. Indeed, the urban layout of today's Ciudad Rodrigo is due to the crossroads at which sits, and its border situation, making it a highly strategic location.

Originally a primitive Vettone fort (which according to some historians bore the name of Miróbriga), the site was conquered by the Romans who, among other vestiges, left the three monumental columns that today form the town's heraldic shield. The Romans used the settlement as a hub for their campaigns against the Lusitanian guerrillas.

The barbarian invasions destroyed it, with the town re-emerging, albeit weaker, only to be ravaged once more by the Arabs.

After an attempt at repopulation in the time of Alfonso VI under Count D. Rodrigo, from whom it takes its current name, the site would not be definitively repopulated until the year 1161 when it was employed by Ferdinand II of León as a bulwark against the Muslim enemy, as well as against the nascent Portuguese kingdom.

This king was to be the town's great benefactor, surrounding it with walls, which we can still see today, although have since undergone restoration work, mainly in the eighteenth century. He also endowed the town with an episcopal see, initiating the construction of a magnificent cathedral.

The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were the town's golden age, seeing the construction of innumerable religious monuments, as well as multiple mansions and manor houses, many of which are still preserved and lend the City a particularly noble air.

Among the religious monuments , in addition to the Cathedral, of course, it is important to mention the Herrerian-style Chapel of Cerralbo, commissioned by Cardinal Pacheco; the neoclassical church of the Venerable Third Order; or the church of San Pedro-San Isidoro, where styles as diverse as Romanesque, Mudejar, Gothic, Renaissance and neoclassical converge.

With regard to civilian buildings , several mansions are particularly worthy of note, such as the Casa de los Águila, the palace of the 1st Marquis of Cerralbo and the Palacio de Montarco. Also of great interest are the City Hall, the old Audiencia (or court), the Hospital de la Pasión (one of the oldest in the world and still functioning today), and, with regard to military buildings, the castle (now a Parador de Turismo), built by King Henry II, although perhaps the most important elements are the moat and wall. Work on these latter was begun in the twelfth century and they have been reformed throughout history, notably in the eighteenth century in order to adapt its defences to the use of artillery.

Wars and destructions ravaged the city: the Secession of Portugal, the War of Succession following the extinction of the House of Austria, and, lastly, in the last century, the War of Independence, comprising a difficult siege lasting several months prior to the town being conquered by the Napoleonic armies. It was liberated months later by Lord Wellington, who was granted the title of Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo by the Cortes de Cádiz.

Peace finally reigned, and, ever since then, Ciudad Rodrigo has striven to be a modern and dynamic city, while respecting its splendid past that it aims to preserve via the study of its history and conservation of its enormous monumental heritage. In 1944 its walls were declared a Historic-Artistic Monument.

Our advice: Come and visit, you are sure to be pleasantly surprised.