[2] The town sits in the Sierra de Montánchez, a small mountain range rising above the plains of Extremadura.

It is one of the main centres in Spain for the production of jamón ibérico, and also produces wine.

Although there is evidence of prehistoric settlement,[3] the first major residents were the Romans, who founded the town in the 1st century AD.

Moorish invaders captured the town in 713, taking advantage of its strategic location in the mountains to build a castle, which still dominates the village today.

The castle was updated at this time, but continued to form an important defensive line.