Medina del Campo

No Palaeolithic remains have turned up around Medina del Campo. Researchers point to a combination of reasons: no high river terraces, no flint for toolmaking, a harsh climate, and a lack of caves for shelter. The oldest objects found in the area are polished stone tools from the Neolithic, though archaeologists believe many of these pieces actually belong to later periods — the Chalcolithic, the Bronze Age, or even the Iron Age — since they were found in isolation, without the surrounding context that would allow precise dating.

Chalcolithic pottery has been recovered from two sites close to Medina: Los Melonares near Rueda and El Arenal de la Morata near Tordesillas. Both sit on river terraces, and neither shows any decoration, which makes dating them difficult.

The chronicler Florián de Ocampo recorded that the pre-Roman Vaccei tribe lived here — a people he described as fierce warriors whom neither Gauls nor Greeks could defeat in battle.

Roman presence followed. After skirmishes connected to the siege of Numancia, the Romans took control of the settlement known as Sarabris but left local customs largely intact. That arrangement held until the Visigoth conquest. Fragments of Hispanic Terra Sigillata — orange-glazed Roman pottery — have been found at a low hill called Las Peñas, about a kilometre west of the town. Behind the convent of Santa Clara, a rise called El Castellón still shows signs of ancient occupation, with traces of medieval ceramics on its slopes. Near the Castillo de la Mota, large walls with rectangular projecting towers survive on the eastern side, surrounded by further medieval ceramic finds.

The Castillo de la Mota, built between the 14th and 15th centuries, sits on a raised mound and looks out over the town and the wide plain around it. It is constructed from the reddish brick typical of the region; stone appears only in small details such as gun ports and coats of arms. The castle was declared a heritage monument in 1904. A circuit of walls once extended from it to enclose the whole town, enlarged on three separate occasions; sections of that fortification still stand.

The Collegiate Church of San Antolín, on the main square, ranks alongside the castle as the town's most significant historic building. Its architecture spans several centuries, from the early Gothic to later periods, with the dominant character being late Gothic. The main structure is the work of Juan Gil de Hontañón. Inside, the church holds the Banner of the Catholic Monarchs. A Plateresque altarpiece, signed by Juan Picardo, Juan Rodríguez, and Conelis de Holanda, decorates the interior, alongside the Altarpiece of San Gregorio with Renaissance paintings. Other notable works include the Chapel of the Angustias by Alberto de Churriguera, a Pietà by Juan de Juni, choir stalls with carved reliefs by Juan Muniategui, and an organ built by Sebastián Miranda. Repairs and modifications continued into the 20th century — as recently as 1903 a chapel was remodelled to serve as a burial place for one of the church's priests.