medellín (pronounced or , spanish: or ) is the capital city in the metropolitan area of medellín of the antioquia department, colombia. it was founded in 1616 by francisco herrera campuzano. as of 2014, the municipality of medellín had a population of about 2.45 million inhabitants. this makes it the second most populated city in colombia after bogotá, which is the capital city of colombia. medellín also is the core of the valle de aburrá ("aburrá valley") metropolitan area. this is the second largest metropolitan area in colombia, with more than 3.8 million inhabitants, and a leading and productive industrial and urban center.