Cal Senyor

Cal Senyor is a Modernist manor house in El Masnou, a coastal town in the Maresme region of Catalonia, roughly twenty kilometres northeast of Barcelona.

What is this place?

Cal Senyor began as a plain rural Catalan house, a "casa de cos", before it was reshaped into a grand town residence with its own garden. The transformation was commissioned by Frederic Maristany and carried out by architects Manuel Sabater and Juli M. Fossas Martínez. The rebuilding work spans the years 1888 to 1910, with the main phase finished in 1900. Fossas later added the wrought-iron garden gate in 1915. The house belongs to a wave of Modernist architecture that spread along the Maresme coast at the turn of the twentieth century, when local families who had grown wealthy — often through trade with the Americas — rebuilt their properties as showcase residences back home.

What does the building look like?

The house rises over a ground floor, two upper storeys and a terrace. Its façade is decorated with alternating red and white stucco stripes designed to imitate exposed brick, a decorative device typical of Catalan Modernisme. The front is organised into two vertical bays: one holding the entrance door and balconies, the other featuring a grilled ground-floor window room facing the street with balcony windows above. A wrought-iron gate encloses the garden, giving the whole property the presence of a stately residence rather than an ordinary house.

How do you get there?

Cal Senyor stands at Passeig de Prat de la Riba 72 in El Masnou, in the Maresme comarca. The town sits on the Rodalies R1 commuter rail line, which runs along the coast between Barcelona and Mataró — one of the easiest ways to reach it without a car. From El Masnou station it's a walk of a little over ten minutes through streets lined with other Modernist buildings from the same period. Keep in mind that Cal Senyor is a private residence: the interior is not open to visitors, and the experience is about admiring the façade and garden from the street.

When should you visit?

El Masnou has the typical Mediterranean coastal climate — mild winters and warm summers tempered by the sea breeze. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for walking the town and taking in its architecture, without the summer crowds on the beach. In summer, the town also draws visitors to its seafront promenade and marina.

What else is worth seeing nearby?

El Masnou is one of several Maresme coastal towns where Modernisme left a visible mark, and a short walk through the centre reveals several villas and residences in a similar spirit to Cal Senyor. The town borders Alella, known for growing the pansa blanca grape used in the region's local white wines. The seafront promenade and marina add an easy, relaxed stop for an evening stroll after exploring the architecture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you visit the inside of Cal Senyor? No — it's a private residence, and like most Modernist houses in this part of Maresme, it can only be admired from the outside.

Who designed Cal Senyor? Architects Manuel Sabater and Juli M. Fossas Martínez carried out the rebuilding; Fossas also designed the wrought-iron garden gate added in 1915.

How do you get to El Masnou from Barcelona? The easiest way is the Rodalies R1 train, which runs along the coast towards Mataró and stops at El Masnou station.

What makes Cal Senyor different from an ordinary house in the area? It wasn't built from scratch — it's a traditional rural "casa de cos" reworked into a grand manor with a garden, a common way wealthy Maresme families modernised their family properties around 1900.