Merida is a city of Roman origin that the Emperor Octavian Augustus built n 25BC to accommodate the war veterans of the Legions V and X.
Shortly after its foundation it was proclaimed the capital of Lusitania and, later, of the Diocese Hispaniarum. During the first centuries of Christianity, it was the archiepiscopal centre for twelve dioceses.

Evidence of it’s survival over more than two thousand years is found from the significant archaeological site which cohabits with the new city and in which one clearly finds features of it’s Roman origin and it’s historical evolution during various cultural stages : palaeochristian, Visigoth, Muslim and Christian periods.

Its status as a capital is found during certain periods, during which the city was developed, alternating with other periods during which it was nothing more than a country village. While becoming the centre of the road and rail communications of Estremadura, it experienced a new expansion in the middle of the 19th century. It is currently the capital of the Autonomous Community and it follows a model of urbanism which respects and emphasizes its history while cohabiting with its present day development.