Aula· Spain, city by cityCataluña
Mataró
«Mataró tiene una larga tradición comercial y agrícola costera.»Mataró has a long coastal commercial and agricultural tradition.
Mataró is the capital of the Maresme, thirty kilometres north of Barcelona, between the coast and the hills. It was the Roman city of Iluro, in 1848 the first railway in peninsular Spain arrived here, and it was here that Gaudí built his first building in 1883: a warehouse for a workers' cooperative.
Did you know
The very first Gaudí work.
The Nau Gaudí was the very first project ever completed by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí in 1878.
How they talk in Mataró
The Catalan of the Maresme coexists with Castilian and preserves maritime vocabulary. «Riera» is a very important geographical word: it indicates the often-dry watercourses that cross coastal towns towards the sea.
déu-n'hi-do
Not bad; quite something; truly remarkable. Interjection or adverb to express surprise, admiration, importance, or a considerable quantity.
Everyday life in Mataró
Spain's first railway
The line to Barcelona, opened in 1848, was the first on the peninsula, and the trains still pass there, by the sea: you take it like you take a bus, and you go to work on it every day.
«El tren va pegado al mar.» — The train runs right next to the sea.
The «Santes» in July
Nine days of major festivities, with giants, fire devils and music written specifically for the city that everyone knows how to sing. The town stops working and fills with people in the streets.
«Las Santes son en julio.» — The Santes are in July.
Boats on dry land on the «platja»
The port is for both fishermen and pleasure boaters, and on the beach you can still see the boats pulled ashore. You buy fish at the lonja when they return, in the early afternoon.
What to eat in Mataró
Escalivada
Vegetables roasted whole over embers, peeled and dressed with olive oil.
Suquet de peix
Fish stew with potatoes and a «picada» of almonds, garlic and parsley.
Festivals in Mataró
Les Santes
the last week of July
Nine days with the giants Robafaves, the «Momerota» and music written for the city that everyone knows how to sing.
What to see in Mataró
Nau Gaudí
The first built work by Antoni Gaudí: a warehouse for a workers' cooperative, from 1883.
Casa Coll i Regàs
Modernista house by Puig i Cadafalch, with the «filadora» sculpted on the façade.
Basílica de Santa Maria
The city's main church, Gothic underneath and Baroque inside, above Roman walls.
El Camí de Ronda
The promenade along the sea, where Spain's first railway passed.
Where Mataró comes from
Spain's first railway
1st century BC
Iluro
Roman city on the Via Augusta, with walls and thermal baths.
16th–18th century
The sea
It lives from fishing, wine and trade with the Americas.
1848
The railway
The Barcelona-Mataró line is inaugurated, the first railway line in peninsular Spain.
1883
Gaudí
A young Gaudí builds his first work here: the workers' cooperative warehouse.
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