Founded by the consul Quintus Caecilus Metellus, leader of the Roman expedition that conquered the Island in the year 123 BC.

The site covers an area of two hectares that includes the residential area of la Portella and el Foro, a public square where important buildings such as the Capitoline Temple dedicated to Imperial Culture have been discovered.

In the third Century AD work was started on the city walls of which some 100 metres remain intact. In the outskirts of the city can be found the Roman Theatre, with a capacity for two thousand people, built towards the end of the first Century AD.