city, northeastern Uruguay. It lies along the Arroyo de los Conventos, an affluent of the Tacuarí River, near the Brazilian border. It was founded in 1795 by Captain Agustín de la Rosa as a Spanish military post and was named for Pedro de Melo, then viceroy of the Río de la Plata territory. Melo serves as a distribution centre for wool, hides, textiles, meats, liquor, and dairy goods. One of the city's colonial-era buildings houses a museum dedicated to the gaucho. Pop. (2004) 50,578.