Step out your front door and look up to see not sky, but millions of tons of solid rock suspended directly overhead. This is daily life in Setenil de las Bodegas, an Andalusian town where homes are carved directly into a massive limestone gorge, and where geography itself has dictated history, economy, and identity for thousands of years.

This episode explores the ultimate story of human endurance, using troglodyte architecture, medieval military history, and modern demographics to understand how a river-carved gorge became one of the most coveted fortresses in the region. From a name meaning seven times nothing to the phylloxera blight that silenced its wineries, we trace how the rock both shielded and shaped this remarkable community.

• The town uses troglodyte architecture where the rock serves as roof and back walls, so inhabit ...