Montilla - History

HISTORY

Montilla dates back to Roman times suggesting there was a Hispano-Roman nucleus here. From the Muslim era comes the name of Montiya, the area was known as, Mondelia and was sparsely populated at this time, it was bordered by the Coras of Cabra and Córdoba.

Little is known of Montilla during the first period of the Middle Ages, until its incorporation into the Castilian-Leonese Crown between February 1240 and March 1241, during the second stay of Fernando III of Castile in Córdoba. In 1257 it became dependent on Gonzalo Yáñez Dovinal, whom Alfonso X el Sabio granted the town and Castle of Aguilar, on which Montilla depended until 1343. The ownership of these lands changed several times, until in 1371, Enrique II of Castile granted it to Lope Gutierrez, Mayor of Córdoba, segregating it from the House of Aguilar, along with the jurisdictional independence and the title of town. After the Christian re-conquest in 1492, Montilla passed into the hands of the Lords of Aguilar who deemed it the centre of their domain. The town subsequently developed into one of the most important garrison towns in the area. In 1630, Felipe IV of Spain granted the town title of city.

Later, in the eighteenth century, Montilla became an increasingly important religious and cultural centre with the construction of various impressive palaces, convents and churches.