LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY
Peñacerrada is situated on the lower part of the northern slopes of the Sierra de Cantabria, which separates Rioja from La Montaña, taking up the flat area of a hill, at an altitude of 754 m above sea level. It is located at the junction of two major roads:
one which runs from north to south, linking the Llanada and Treviño with Rioja, and the other from east to west, joining Castile with Navarre, via the courses of the Rivers Inglares and Ega respectively.
    HISTORIC EVOLUTION AND URBAN STRUCTURE

HISTORY		  
Its foundation (8th century) is not clear, but what is known is the important role played by its castle along with those of Mendilucea, Villamonte and Herrera, throughout the Middle Ages.
It began life under Castilian rule, governed by the Charter of Logroño, going over to Navarre in 1222. In the mid-13th century, it moved to its present location with the town centre enclosed by walls, going by the name of Peñacerrada.
In 1315 it became Castilan again and then, once more, Navarrese under the reign of Carlos II, at which time its walls were strengthened with bastions, trenches and embrasures. In 1377, it went over to the Castilian King Enrique II who, in turn, handed it over to the first Conde de Salinas. Later, the Duque de Híjar would come into power.
For its strategic position, it was highly sought-after by Castilians and Navarrese in medieval times and by Carlists and Liberals in the modern era, commanding the route that led from Álava and Treviño to Rioja.
URBAN GROWTH  
As was typical of a medieval town, it consisted of a walled enclosure whose centre was contained within an oval, adapted to the topography of the hill upon which it lay.
It was urbanised around four streets and two squares, divided by the church. Both squares had a differing topography, although they coincided in that they bisected the streets that made up the layout of the town.

 
TYPES OF BUILDING  
The urban housing fell into the aforementioned Gothic pattern of distribution with a frontage of 5 or 6 m with a varying depth and two entrances, normally at differing heights. The house of the nobility, of a regular plan and compact size, was built between the 17th and 18th centuries. Aside from these, there are other outstanding buildings, which, on the whole, are anomalies.
STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS  
The parochial church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, one of the richest in the province in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, is of ancient origin and has undergone various alterations. It has two portals: the southern one, from the 13th century, with Romanesque ornamentation; and the Neo-classical northern one.
To the north of the church is the Plaza de Fray Francisco Martínez, quadrangular in shape, whose opposing sides house, respectively, religious and secular buildings. Recently, the fountain at its centre has been replaced.
The Plaza de los Fueros, whose layout is more irregular, communicates with the only remaining portal.
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