Astudillo, Palencia

Astudillo is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of Castilla y León belonging to the province of Palencia. It is located 29 km northeast of the provincial capital, and has 1,106 inhabitants (2011) with an area of 122.95 km².ToponymThe name Astudillo comes from Roman times, specifically from Tito Estatilio Tauro, the Roman general whose legions had their field operations in this Vaccaei region around the year 29 BC.According to historical records, the name evolved from Ancient Latin in the times of Augustus to modern Castilian: Statilium, Stutilium, Stitellum, Stutellium, Stutiellum, Stutiello, Studellum, Astutello, Astodello, Estodello, Estudillo, Astudil and Astudillo.STUTILIUM can be found in the motto of the official Coat of Arms of the municipality of Astudillo.HistoryAstudillo has ancient origins, Roman remains having been found within its surroundings. In the Middle and modern ages it was involved in textile production. It was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1995. In the municipality there are several churches, the Castle of La Mota and the Convent of Santa Clara. The origins of Astudillo are prehistoric, having been located within its area several settlements from the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Astudillo and the region were already occupied in Roman times.In the XI century, Astudillo was already head of Alfoz, so the town was a walled place from early medieval times, you can still see one of the six gates it had, the gate of San Martin, of the others only remains their memory and their names: Revilla, Santa Eugenia, San Pedro, Santa Clara and Santoyo. In the middle of the twelfth century, King Alfonso VII, granted privileges to the knights of Astudillo consisting in a wide range of exemptions and freedoms.