Montilla, birthplace of “El Gran Capitán”

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Herrera, named “El Gran Capitán”, was born in Montilla, Córdoba, in 1453 and died in Granada in 1515. He was the third child and second son of Pedro Fernández de Córdoba y Arellano, V lord of Aguilar and Elvira de Herrera y Enríquez.

His mother came from a significant Castilian family, the Lords of Pedraza. She was a first cousin of Juana Enriquez, wife of King Juan II of Aragon, parents of Fernando el Católico himself. Thus, Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba is related to the royal family as a second cousin of Fernando de Aragón.

Gonzalo was the younger brother of Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba y Herrera, VI Lord of Aguilar and the heir of the house, known as Alonso de Aguilar.

As a second son, Gonzalo was offered two possible vocations, religious life and military life, which he would opt for after discarding his entry into the Hieronymite monastery of Valparaiso in Cordoba.

The work that appears in this panel, “Atlante español” (1778-1795), shows a totally idealized image of the city of Montilla.