As one of the oldest towns in Portugal, with a history of Roman settlement recorded since the year 16 AD, Idanha-a-Velha (Idanha "the old") has been described as a "modest village with a rich historical background". Idanha-a-Velha is built on the site of the city of Egitânia, which previously had thousands of inhabitants. The town was repeatedly invaded and looted throughout history, and the ruins evince the influence of different periods of its history: buildings from the Pre-History, Celtic, Classic Roman when it was called Civitas Igaeditanorum, Suebic, Visigothic when it was called Egitânia, Moorish, Medieval and Portuguese Manueline periods.