Along a steep hill we get to the door of what was the Castle of Montilla. The most important building in this twon was also its fortress, where Fernándea de Córdoba lived from 1371 during the reign of Enrique II.

This castle was one of the most fortified in the whole of Andalusia, and it occupied the highest part of the hill on which Montilla is situated. The walls were flanked by towers known as: Dorado, Sol, Centinela, Defensa, Minerva, Antonina, Diana, Escuchuela, Homenaje, Alta, Mayor, Escudos, Miedo, Marte and Troyana.

It is known that it used to hold up to four hundred houses and normally had three hundred soldiers, apart from the servants of the palace. Among the numerous rooms we should point out the Juntas, Sueño, Secreto, Registro and Dorado in the towers of the same names which accommodated guests. In the rooms of the Marte tower the Catholic Kings and and Queen of Naples stayed in 1491, and when King Fernando commented on the narrowness of the stairway Alonso de Aguilar said: 'Sir, whoever made it didn't expect such a wide guest'.

In this castle, Gonzalo de Fernándea de Córdoba, (the Gran Capitan) was born on 16th March 1453. He lived there till the age of fourteen which was when he was sent to Avila to accompany the Prince Don Alonso. In 1474 he was called by Queen Isabel de Castilla, who was already married to Don Fernando de Aragón. He took part in the war that Doña Isabel held against Portugal, in the battle of Albuera. In the war of Granada he was famous in whatever challenges he had to face. He was chosen for his talent and knowledge of the Arabic language to make a settlement with King Boabdil de Granada the Capitulations to give up Granada. He was sent as a Captain General to help the monarchs Fernando and Alonso, from the French invasion in 1495. It was all victories and in the Atella Capitualtion the name of the Gran Capitan was written down.

He received numerous titles and honours and he entered Rome like the old Caesars after freeing the city and he was received by the Pope.

When Queen Isabel died, Don Gonzalo lost the shield that stood up for him against envy and the people harassed the King and thus the King started to lose trust in him.

In 1508 Don Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, nephew to the Gran Capitán, owner of the castle of Montilla, had a confrontation with the legates of the King, so the King wanted to teach him a lesson. Among other punishments he ordered the castle to be pulled down.

The Gran Capitán begged the King, but he had already resolved to punish the Andalusian nobility. The Gran Capitán was upset with the King due to his prediliction for the Castillan and Aragonese nobility.

The death penalty originally imposed upon Don Pedro Fernández was commuted to permanent exile from Córdoba, a huge fine, the surrender to the King of all his castles and the complete demolition of the important fortress of Montilla.

This destructive work was carried out on 19th July 1508 with 3,000 people taking part, all of them foreigners, since despite the thirty maravedies payment, no one from Montilla turned up. In the pulling down of the castle many died from the rolling stones and debris from the slope.

Inside the grounds a huge building was constructed in 1722 to store grain. These rooms have also been used as a wine cellar.

In the old Alholí or granary, and in harmony with the whole enclosure, the Andalusia Museum of Wine is to be built. It will be a general Wine Museum where the visitor will be able to get information about the wines of the world, in Europe, in Spain, in Andalusia and of course the appellation d'origine Montilla-Moriles, to which more attention will be paid.

On the same slope of the Castle is the wrought-iron gate which gives access to the Monument to the Heart of Jesus. This sculpture rises from a high limestone pedestal and was sculptured by the local sculptor Don Manuel Garnelo y Alda in 1940.