Capital of the council of Ribadedeva, with 1,300 inhabitants approximately, located in a plain at 110 meters of altitude. Among the first documentary citations of this town, the reference to the overnight stay of King Charles I stands out after his landing in Tazones, which took place in September 1517.

The great transformation of Colombres takes place in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, thanks to the patronage of enriched emigrants to America who decide to build splendid homes in their hometown and who, in addition, promote different infrastructures and public services, such as the central square itself, the water supply, the asylum hospital or the cemetery. These constructions and services coexist with some examples of the traditional Colombres, in the form of houses between firebreaks, with galleries or wooden balconies, which are concentrated in some neighborhoods in the north of the capital.

Colombres was declared a Historic Site in 2013 and Exemplary Town of Asturias in 2015.