Can Cinto Feu

Can Cinto Feu is a historic masia (traditional Catalan farmhouse) standing right in the centre of Teià, a small town in the Maresme region near Barcelona. Protected as a local cultural heritage asset, the building is best known for the enormous sundial on its facade — one of the largest of its kind anywhere in Catalonia.

How do you get to Can Cinto Feu?

Teià sits inland in Maresme, a short drive from the coast and roughly 30 km north of Barcelona. Driving is the easiest option: the town connects to the C-32 motorway and to local roads linking it with Vilassar de Mar and Alella. If you rely on public transport, take a train or bus to one of the nearby coastal towns and continue by local bus to Teià. The house itself stands in the town's built-up centre, hemmed in by newer buildings, so it is worth checking with the local tourist office for the exact address — the entrance can be easy to miss among the surrounding architecture.

What will you see there?

Can Cinto Feu is made up of two connected sections, visible at a glance from the facade. The eastern wing has a ground floor plus one upper storey, roofed with the two-sloped Arab-tile roof typical of the region. Its most distinctive feature is a rounded-arch portal, complemented by four window openings on the upper level. The western wing is taller, with a ground floor and two upper storeys, also under an Arab-tile roof.

The real showstopper, though, is the sundial set between four windows on the facade. It measures roughly 2.80 by 4.5 metres, which — according to studies of the farmhouses of Maresme — makes it the largest sundial in Catalonia. It is the kind of detail most regional guidebooks skip entirely, so it is worth pausing to study the layout of numerals and hour lines.

The stonework around the windows and the portal shows features typical of 17th-century construction, which is how the oldest part of the building is dated. Can Cinto Feu originally stood alone amid open fields; only as Teià grew did surrounding houses gradually close in around it.

What is the history behind the building?

Records tied to the property go back to at least the early 18th century: documents mention the 1703 marriage of Jacint Botey and Caterina Fàbregas. The turning point in the house's history came in 1750, when the family's heiress, Caterina Botey, married Joan Feu. From that marriage onward, the Feu name stayed attached to the house for generations, lasting into the early 20th century — which explains the double-barrelled name, Can Cinto from an earlier owner and Feu from the family that took over the property in the mid-18th century.

When is the best time to visit?

Spring and autumn are the best seasons to explore Teià, when Maresme's temperatures are mild and the surrounding hills, covered in vineyards and pine forest, look their best. Summers can get hot and the coast gets crowded, but the inland town itself stays comparatively quiet. Since the sundial only tells time properly on a clear day, aim for a season with plenty of sunshine if you want to see it in action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you go inside Can Cinto Feu? The house is privately owned and still used as a residence, so visits are limited to viewing the facade and sundial from the street.

What is the main highlight of this site? The oversized sundial on the facade, considered one of the largest in Catalonia at roughly 2.80 by 4.5 metres.

Where does the name Can Cinto Feu come from? It combines the name of an earlier owner, Cinto (a short form of Jacint), with the Feu family name, who acquired the property through marriage to the family's heiress in 1750.

How much time should you set aside? Seeing the facade and sundial only takes a few minutes — it makes a good short stop as part of a longer walk through the centre of Teià.