Ciudad Rodrigo history
The site on which Ciudad Rodrigo stands, a rocky
hill on the banks of the river Águeda, has been populated
since the Neolithic period. Around the 6th century BC, the "vetones",
a tribe of Celtic origin settled there. Four centuries later,
the Romans conquered the city and re-named it Augustóbriga
in honour of the emperor Octavian Caesar Augustus. Dating to this
period are the "Three Columns", an enigmatic monument
that still stands at the foot of the city's entrance.
The object of centuries of dispute between the Arabs and Christians,
this fortified town was repopulated in 1100 by Count Rodrigo González
Girón, from whom it took its definitive name. King Ferdinand
II of León completed the repopulation of the area and undertook
several ambitious projects, such as the fortification of the city
and the restoration of the old Roman port. It was also during
his reign that the city regained its status as an Episcopal See.
The main buildings of the historic quarter,
which is an Historic-Artistic Site, date back to the 15th and
16th centuries, a period during which the city enjoyed its golden
age.
Salamanca guide